While over 80% of the students who attend Lumen Christi are Catholic, you don’t have to have a religious background or even a defined understanding of who God and Jesus are to be welcome here.

What can you expect if you attend Lumen?

All students take a religion (theology) class each year. 

In our theology classes, we teach about God and Jesus and about the Biblical men and women of the Old and New Testaments.  Students learn about the sacraments and prayer, the parts of the Catholic Mass, the Rosary and lives of the Saints. We instruct on Catholic social justice teachings (e.g. Care for the Poor and Vulnerable; Care for the Earth as God’s Creation; the Dignity and Rights of Workers).  Upper level classes explore Catholic moral teaching as it relates to human dignity in health care and the life sciences. 

The faith formation students receive at Lumen serves a foundation for greater connectedness within whatever community students belong to. It also allows those who believe in God to grow in understanding of His infinite grace and loving kindness and that through Him, truly all things are possible.  Through our Sports Leader program, whose motto is “Virtue = Strength”, we emphasize virtue development in all our students. 

Prayer is an important aspect of our school. 

Every school day begins with a student led prayer over the intercom, in addition to the Pledge of Allegiance and school announcements.  Throughout the day classes may begin in prayer (as do many athletic practices and/or sports competitions) and our school day ends with a prayer to our school mascot, St. Michael the Archangel.

All students participate in weekly Mass.

The celebration of Mass is central to the Catholic faith.  All school Mass is celebrated each Friday at 9 a.m. and respectful and attentive participation is mandatory for all students and faculty.  This Mass is complete before the start of classes. There is optional Mass for anyone wishing to attend during 7th period. Students are welcome to take time out of Study Hall or Electives in order to attend this 20 minute service.

We emphasize student participation in all areas of the liturgy including serving as lectors, altar servers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and as members of the choir. We hope through active involvement that our liturgies inspire students to become involved in their own personal and/or faith communities.

All students participate in retreats.

Each of our high school classes goes on an off-site grade level retreat during the year, starting with “Giving the Gift of Self” in 9th grade, “Discovering, Growing, and Using the Gifts God Gives Each of Us” in 10th grade, “Answering God’s Call Actively” in 11th grade, and culminating in our two-day 12th grade retreat focused on “Servant Leadership.”  During these retreats, students have time for reflection and prayer, as well as opportunities to put their faith in action at Brother Francis Shelter, St. Francis Food Pantry, and other areas of service.

We also organize on campus and off campus retreats for our Junior High students where we emphasize class community and complete shorter 1-2 hour community service projects.

All students participate in special liturgical services throughout the school year.

As a school community, we join together in special liturgical services like celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Advent and Lent and praying the Rosary as a school once a month prior to school Mass.  We often pray novenas for special intentions and our students lead Stations of the Cross on Mondays during Lent.  We honor Holy Days of Obligation that fall on school days during the year and attend an All- Schools Mass with the other Catholic schools from the Archdiocese during Catholic Schools Week in January.  We start our school year with a Mass of the Holy Spirit and end the year with both a May Crowning Mass and a Baccalaureate Mass for our graduating seniors.  In addition, our student athletes regularly attend Mass together as a team and start their sports season with a Rosary Rally.

All students are encouraged to participate in charity drives.

Throughout the school year, different organizations such as our Student Leadership Board, Big A/little a, and National Honor Society promote charity drives to raise funds for important needs in our local communities and beyond. The purpose of the drives is not just to raise money and awareness but also to help students form solidarity with those less fortunate. School and class wide charity drives include Operation Rice Bowl, “Stuffing Drive,” the Senior Class Penny Drive, and many others.

Campus Ministry

Lumen Christi has an on-site Campus Minister whose job it is to assist students achieve success in all of the activities above! Our Campus Minister works closely with the administration, faculty, and especially the Theology Department in order to provide for the presence of a Christian atmosphere and value system in the school. The Campus Minister supports prayer groups, prayer services, provides one-on-one counseling and has an open-door policy for all Lumen students and their parents.