Students, faculty, staff and benefactors of Julie Billiart School Westlake gathered Sept. 13 for the first Mass at the newly opened campus. Bishop Edward Malesic celebrated Mass before blessing and dedicating the school’s Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Chapel.
“Welcome, Bishop Malesic. We are so excited to have you here today,” said Lannie Davis-Frecker, president and CEO of Julie Billiart Schools. “God is good all the time and all the time, God is good,” she said, which is the mantra of Julie Billiart Schools.
Although parents were unable to attend because of COVID-19 protocols, the liturgy was livestreamed on the school’s Facebook page.
The Westlake campus is the third campus in the Julie Billiart Schools Network. It opened Aug. 25 with 44 students in kindergarten through second grade. Next fall, grades 5-8 will be added.
“I am so excited to be here,” the bishop said. “You are God’s special children and he loves you very much. This is a wonderful school. I talked to some of the Notre Dame sisters before Mass and they were telling me about the school,” he said, referring to the origins of Julie Billiart School. “They wanted to find a way to help special children like you. Your teachers are special, too and they love you.”
Talking about the Gospel, the bishop said Zaccheus was so eager to see Jesus that he climbed a tree. Jesus saw him and asked him to come down so they could go to Zaccheus’ house. “Jesus is coming here today,” the bishop told the students. “After Mass, we will take him upstairs to the chapel, his new home. Do you love Jesus? He loves you and you can help take him to your other homes.”
Bishop Malesic thanked the school’s benefactors and supporters who made the new campus a reality, noting they had an opportunity to be generous and did so by sharing their gifts and talents.
“Children who might be shunned elsewhere can come here where they are loved and accepted,” he said.
After Mass, the bishop blessed the chapel and placed the Eucharist in the tabernacle.
“This is a beautiful chapel, a place of worship and Jesus wants to be here,” he said.
He talked with representatives of the Sisters of Notre Dame and benefactors at a brief reception before touring the school and greeting children in their classrooms.
Julie Billiart Schools offer a personalized education for children in primary, elementary and middle school. Samantha Evers is principal at the Westlake campus.
The school was founded in 1954 by the Sisters of Notre Dame, who saw a need to provide a specialized education for children who were cast off by society and considered beyond help. It was the first Catholic school in the area to offer an education for students with learning differences. The sisters said the school would be a place where every child could find a sense of belonging.
In 2017, the Julie Billiart School Network was formed. The Akron campus joined the original Lyndhurst campus in 2017 and the Westlake campus opened in August. By 2025, school officials hope to serve up to 700 children.
The school is named after St. Julie Billiart, founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She was born in 1751 in France. A teacher of the faith, she operated a school for girls. She died in 1814 and was canonized in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.
St. Julie Billiart became the spiritual mother of the Sisters of Notre Dame Coesfeld. In 1840, some of the sisters came to the United States and eventually found their way to Cleveland, where they began their continuing ministry in education.