A true school is a community, a faculty of friends. But a good school will also build a community around itself. A school becomes beautiful when it has cultivated a broad community of friends rooted in the joyful celebration of Catholic culture. Gregory the Great Academy has been richly blessed with this culture of friendship and takes opportunities every year to gather those friends together to strengthen the bonds and to fortify the spirit which breathes new life into that culture and these friendships. Though delightful, such events also fulfill a duty to support one another and to uphold the mission held in common and perpetuated through the Academy.
On February 25, 2017, Gregory the Great Academy held its second annual Soirée in McLean, Virginia, where old friends assembled to renew acquaintances, to make new ones, to enjoy fine food, wine, and music, to laugh, to learn, and to muster behind the Academy as it prepares for a happy and historical move: a return to its original home in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania. Held at the beautiful home of the Honorable Mr. and Mrs. Scott Bloch, Gregory the Great Academy was proud to feature creative dishes by an expert team of generous volunteers led by alumnus Marc-Pierre Jansen, and addresses by Fr. Paul Scalia and Prof. Anthony Esolen. A number of original works of art and stunning craftsmanship found homes during a lively auction, and, after a musical performance by the St. Gregory’s Schola Cantorum, an overwhelming show of support was made in the form of public pledges towards the purchase of the new campus.
The Soirée was an absolute and unprecedented success and a wonderful launch for our Homeward campaign. The gratitude felt by the faculty and students is deep. With the devotion and faith manifested by so many good people at this event, efforts to return home are proceeding with high hopes and soaring confidence. Thank you to our guests, to our speakers, to our volunteers, to our sponsors, and to our friends. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity. Our school would not be a school without your friendship.
