A national organization to promote and strengthen faithful Catholic elementary and secondary schools honored the work of The Cardinal Newman Society with induction into the “Catholic Education Foundation Hall of Fame” on Friday, April 17.

The Catholic Education Foundation’s honors banquet in Uniondale, New York, was held on the anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s address to U.S. Catholic educators at The Catholic University of America on April 17, 2008.

“The Cardinal Newman Society is grateful for the honor, but especially for the important work of the Catholic Education Foundation, including its support for schools that are faithful to their Catholic mission and its scholarship program for deserving students with financial needs,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society, who was present to receive the award.

The Hall of Fame was instituted by the Catholic Education Foundation in response to the crisis in Catholic education—including a significant decline of Catholic schools and Catholic identity in recent decades—to honor “immortals of Catholic education” who exhibit the “proud history” of Catholic education and “who have provided inspiration to so many.” The Foundation’s president Joseph Indelicato and executive director Fr. Peter Stravinskas congratulated The Cardinal Newman Society for its leadership in promoting faithful Catholic education at America’s Catholic colleges and universities.

Past Hall of Fame inductees include Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., Bishop Edgar da Cunha of the Archdiocese of Newark, Mother Assumpta Long, O.P., of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., of Ignatius Press, Fr. James Schall, S.J., of Georgetown University, Dr. Ralph McInerny of the University of Notre Dame, and others.

This year’s honorees include Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, who helped establish Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, Wy.; Fr. Christopher Phillips, a convert from the Anglican Church and founder of The Atonement Academy in San Antonio, Tx.; Sr. Marie Pappas, C.R., Associate Superintendent for Mission Effectiveness in the Archdiocese of New York; Lou Carnesecca, the legendary former basketball coach at St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y.; and Joseph Thomas, a beloved and highly successful former football coach at Chaminade High School in Mineola, N.Y.

Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Fr. Philip Eichner, S.M., Provincial Superior of the Meriba Province of Marianists, for his leadership of Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, N.Y.; and Sr. Margherita Marchione, M.P.F., of Norristown, N.J., for her scholarship on the heroic virtues of Pope Pius XII.

The honors banquet was preceded by a symposium for Catholic educators at Kellenberg Memorial High School. In response to a paper by Sr. Pappas on “The Catholic High School and the Sacred Liturgy as Agents of Evangelization,” Reilly urged high school teachers to help students preserve and grow in their faith by preparing them for the often toxic environment on college campuses, and by counseling students to seek out the most faithful Catholic colleges recommended in The Cardinal Newman Society’s publication, The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College.

In March, The Cardinal Newman Society made The Newman Guide available online for free after the second printing of the book was nearly sold out. The next edition of the popular guide will be available later this summer both online and in hard copy format.