Catholic Identity
At Father McGivney Catholic High School, our Catholic identity is central to everything that we do and who we are. Our ultimate goal is to help each student know, love, and serve God, ensuring that they live with joy and purpose in this life and attain eternal happiness with Him in the next. By integrating faith into every aspect of education—classes, sports, and clubs—Father McGivney Catholic High School ensures that our students are not only academically prepared but also spiritually enriched, ready to live out the Gospel values in their daily lives.
Each year, our seniors participate in the ACRE (Assessment of Catholic Religious Education) exam, a national assessment tool that measures religious knowledge and faith formation. We are proud to be the highest-scoring high school in the Springfield Diocese, a testament to the strength of our Theology program and the dedication of our faculty and students.
Participation in the Sacraments
The Sacraments are central to our faith formation. We offer weekly Masses where students take on all liturgical ministries. Reconciliation is available every Wednesday. Additionally, we hold all-school Reconciliation and Adoration days at the beginning of the school year, during Advent, and during Lent. Our students attend annual class retreats and have the opportunity to participate in optional personal retreats such as Marian Consecration, Exodus 90, Magnify 90, the National Catholic Youth Conference, and Steubenville STL.
Service to Others
Our school motto, "Serving the Culture of Life," is lived out through various pro-life initiatives. We adopt a day for the 40 Days for Life campaign, participate in the Pro-Life Mass and Rosary Walk with Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, and attend the March for Life in Springfield. Every student completes personal service hours: freshmen must fulfill ten hours, sophomores fifteen, juniors twenty, and seniors twenty-five in the categories of school, parish, and community. Beyond individual service, our students engage in mission trips through Catholic Ministries and participate in charitable drives, including the Mosaic baby bottle fundraiser and Kelsey’s Hope Sock It to Cancer. Through our House system, we collect food during Thanksgiving to provide full meals for sixteen families through our Cansgiving event. Each House adopts a family at Christmas through the Change a Child's Christmas program. The sixteen different Houses go out into the community, schools, and parishes to offer our services two times during our school year. The House works as a team to help those organizations in need. Our students made Valentine cards for Senator Plummer's Valentines for Seniors Campaign. Monthly dress-down days raise money to support charitable organizations chosen by students. The National Honor Society sponsors two annual blood drives and bakes for local first responders each month. Additionally, many of our upperclassmen serve on the Cardinal Glennon Junior Board, which organizes service projects, such as a coat drive that collected over 400 coats for the St. Louis community.
Prayer Life
Prayer is at the heart of our school life. We pray together three times daily: morning prayer, the Angelus with lunch prayer, and the Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Michael McGivney at day's end. Our chapel remains open before, during, and after school for personal prayer. Our students know that they may go to the chapel any time. On Monday mornings, students and faculty gather for "Mondays with Mary" to pray the Rosary. Prayer extends beyond Theology classes, as many teachers begin their secular classes with prayer. Theology classes visit the chapel weekly for personal prayer, reflection, or Scripture study. During Lent, the classes pray the Stations of the Cross. Our Houses use the Hallow app weekly to build faith-based relationships with our House peers.
Celebrating Our Faith
Recognizing the importance of carrying our faith beyond our school walls, all athletic teams and drama groups designate a Spiritual Captain to lead prayer before and after practices, games, and events. Many teams aim to attend Mass together on weekends. We are the only high school that participates in the Mission Mass at the Cathedral. Spanish is the only language taught at FMCHS, and we celebrated our first Spanish Mass in the McGivney Chapel this year with Father Christopher Trummer.
To inspire and strengthen our students' faith, we invite guest speakers, such as Jason Evert last year and Sister M. Gemma Kissel FSGM and Fr. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B., this year. We also reach out to the community through faith-based events. Our school choirs lead a Lenten Night of Reflection at a local parish, and our annual Epiphany Mass and Scholarship Luncheon invites alumni to share how they live out their faith in college. Additionally, our Men's Mass and Breakfast provides spiritual enrichment, led by various deacons and priests in our deanery.
Through these commitments, Father McGivney Catholic High School remains steadfast in fostering Catholic identity, ensuring our students grow in faith, service, and community while preparing to be lifelong disciples of Christ.