POPE FRANCIS
Global Academy
As a dynamic and diverse community driven by our shared Catholic faith and values, Pope Francis Global Academy engages all students, faculty and parents in a calling to the common goal of fostering the whole student.
Originally opened in August of 2016, Pope Francis Global Academy brought together the strengths, resources, and traditions of 4 local parish schools, creating one new and exciting faith-filled center of academic excellence, which for 4 school years, offered two locations. Through changes brought about by the Renew My Church program, we are now on one campus located on the St. Pascal Church property at Irving Park Road and Melvina.
Our curriculum, which was developed from the ground up in 2016 through a collaboration between local and regional educational thought leaders and representatives from the Archdiocese of Chicago, has continued to evolve with further improvements and enhancements driven by our teaching staff and administrators.
Our graduates are now out representing Pope Francis Global Academy at some of the best Catholic high schools (with thousands of dollars in scholarship money), as well as some of the most selective public high schools in Chicago. They have been well-prepared at Pope Francis Global Academy - academically, spiritually, and socially.
The Wolf of Gubbio
How We Became the Wolf Pack
Derived from a beautiful story about St. Francis of Assisi, the namesake and patron of Pope Francis. "The Wolf of Gubbio", so it goes, had been terrorizing the Italian town, attacking villagers eating livestock. The mayor summoned Francis of Assisi to ask for help as he was known to have a special ability to communicate with animals. Francis of Assisi met with the wolf, who explained he was injured and hungry and unable to travel with his pack. He had no other means of finding food and was reluctantly stealing from the farmers.
After prayer and contemplation, Francis of Assisi returned to the village with the wolf and told the people, “He has the same needs as you and only wants to eat and not go hungry. Can the people of Gubbio feed him if he promises to never again take the lives of the people and their animals? Remember, our Savior taught forgiveness. He taught us to love our enemies.”
The village ultimately forgave the wolf and provided him food. Thereafter, the wolf protected the village of Gubbio and all its' people.
As "pack animals", wolves work together as a team for the betterment of the whole. They are loyal and committed to the success of the group because they recognize the importance and value of each and every member. Communication and collaboration are key skills that wolves utilize to find success together.
This is a wonderful model for our students and our community as we work to become one "pack" with big goals for the entire group.