Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is hard to believe, but we are already in August, and our students are back to school. Seems like our eighth graders were just graduating yesterday. Time flies when you are having fun. During our brief hiatus, there has been some amazing work going on behind the scenes around our campus to prepare for the return of more than 600 students and staff members and the hundreds of “snowbirds” returning to our valley for the winter.

Our dedicated and hard-working maintenance staff as well as many tradesmen have spent the past few months improving, repairing, cleaning, and preparing our campus. Their efforts often happen quietly and behind the scenes, but they play an enormous role in making sure that our campus remains a safe, welcoming, clean, and beautiful environment.

Here are just a few things that have happened this past month. We have completed floor stripping and waxing throughout campus, deep cleaning of rugs and shared spaces, extensive power washing, repainted classrooms, performed technology upgrades, furniture repairs, classroom repairs, air conditioner repairs, just to name a few. While many of these improvements may go unnoticed by most people walking around our campus, they are all part of the care and stewardship we strive to provide for our community.

Our parish never closes. We are blessed to have an adoration chapel where registered parishioners visit day and night, seven days a week, to adore Our Lord. Mass and confessions welcome people from near and far daily. Our staff has been hard at work throughout the summer months, welcoming new families (and updating the records of currently registered families) as well as preparing parishioners, young and old, to receive their sacraments. Our amazing vacation bible school program brought smiles to everyone involved during the week. The staff at the school spent time conducting new family orientations, completing textbook and workbook orders, organizing and distributing classroom supplies for teachers, processing student paperwork, and preparing all of the countless details required to begin a smooth and successful school year. Their dedication and organization bless many families.

Concerning our campus and school, I want to update you on two major projects that will significantly strengthen campus safety and improve student technology accountability. The first project was the final implementation of a new AI-assisted monitoring system connected to our campus-wide camera network. Our cameras are now monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by both trained live personnel and artificial intelligence systems designed specifically for school safety. One important capability of this system is the ability to identify visible weapons, even in parking lot areas, and immediately contact police dispatch directly, bypassing the traditional 911 process and reducing emergency response time. While we pray these systems are never needed, the safety of our parishioners, students, and staff remains our highest earthly responsibility, and we continue to invest in proactive security measures.

The second major project involves student technology use and internet accountability. During the final weeks of last school year, we piloted a new program on our 5th–8th grade take-home iPads that will now be fully implemented for the coming school year. School issued iPads will now remain under our school firewall and filtering protections even when students are off campus. This means websites categorized as inappropriate or unsafe, including categories involving alcohol, tobacco, firearms, pornography, and other harmful content, will remain blocked on student devices.

Raising children in today’s digital world comes with great responsibility. Technology can be a wonderful tool for learning and growth, but it also carries significant risks and distractions for young people who are still developing judgment, maturity, self-control, and healthy digital habits. In his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV reminded the faithful that “technology is never neutral” and warned that technological progress must always remain at the service of human dignity, relationships, truth, and the common good. Our pope specifically called for young people to be formed with wisdom, responsibility, and what he described as “an ecology of communication” rooted in truth and accountability. Our goal is not simply restriction for restriction’s sake, but rather helping create an environment where students can focus on learning, remain safe online, and continue developing responsible technology habits in partnership with their families. As Pope Leo XIV reminds us: “In the humble fidelity of daily life, even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives.”

God Bless.

Prayer to St. Carlo Acutis
Patron Saint of the internet, computer programmers, and youth

O God, You have given us in St. Carlo Acutis a model of virtue and holiness for our digital age. We thank you for making him an inspiration to young people through his devotion to the Eucharist, his love for the poor, and his ability to use modern means to spread the Gospel.

St. Carlo Acutis, friend of God and servant of the poor, intercede for us before the throne of grace. Help us to recognize Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, to use our talents in service of others, and to navigate the digital world with wisdom and charity.

Like you, may each of us proclaim that “the Eucharist is my highway to heaven” and strive to live in constant communion with Our Lord. Guide us to use technology as a tool for evangelization and to bring others closer to Christ through our witness. Amen.

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