Bishop honors Ursuline, Mooney football

By GRACE WYLER gwyler@vindy.com

For the first time in history, the football teams from Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline High Schools were addressed together on Tuesday.

The 2009 state championship football teams from Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline were honored at a luncheon hosted by Bishop George Murry of Youngstown on Tuesday.

“Both schools have had three state championships in the past 10 years,” Dan Reardon, Ursuline’s head coach, said. “This is a testament to not only football, but the type of education, the type of students at these schools.”

The luncheon, which followed a mass given by the Bishop at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, was part of the high schools’ annual Catholic Schools Week celebrations, which took place from Jan. 31-Feb.6. Catholic Schools Week is a national celebration of the important contributions that Catholic elementary and secondary schools make to academic and spiritual education in the United States.

“You should go home and thank whoever is responsible for sending you to Catholic school,” P.J. Fecko, Cardinal Mooney’s head coach said in his remarks. “It has let you plow a road, not only academically, but spiritually, socially and as we have all experienced, athletically.”

Other Catholic Schools Week celebrations included a Wednesday ceremony at Cardinal Mooney that honored distinguished alumni. The annual awards celebrate alumni who have demonstrated continued service and dedication to others.

The Alumni Association presented this year’s awards to Edward J. Reese, a 1977 graduate and Sister Bernadine Janci, a 1959 graduate.

Cardinal Mooney will host an open house to give the public an opportunity to visit the school and learn about its curriculum on Sunday from 12 p.m.-3 p.m. The Home and School Association will host a Super Bowl Tailgate Party for students, alumni and prospective families in the school cafeteria during the open house.

At Ursuline, other Catholic Schools Week events included classroom visits from Bishop Murry Tuesday, Grandparents Morning Wednesday, and Ursuline Night at the Youngstown Phantoms hockey game Friday.

Ursuline will also host an open house for prospective students on Sunday.