Our Faith in Action
The primary goal of Catholic education is to help students be transformed in Christ. As a Catholic institution devoted to academic excellence, we are bound to fidelity to the Christian message as it comes to us through the Church. Bishop Feehan exists to help students know and love the God who made them, and to respond to their Creator with a heart full of love, and a desire to serve Him and all His children. To accomplish this Feehan orients each student in the fullness of the Catholic Tradition, first through their theological studies. Bishop Feehan has a theology department not because it is Catholic, but rather we are Catholic therefore we have a theology department. Each student is required to take and pass eight semesters of Theology. Each course is sequentially built upon the previous course.
- Freshmen year: Foundations of Faith and Hebrew Scriptures
- Sophomore year: Christian Testament and Church History
- Junior year: Morality and Christian Lifestyles
- Senior year: Social Justice followed by a choice of one elective: Biblical Themes in Film, Service Internship, Prayer and Celebrations, Death and Dying, Bioethics, or World Religions
The local theology curriculum of Bishop Feehan is in conformity with the Fall River Diocesan Religion Learning Outcomes for Secondary Schools, which have been reviewed and approved by our local bishop, the Reverend George W. Coleman. The theological academic experience that students receive at Feehan is designed to assist students in knowing their faith, and in being able to defend and live out their faith in a world which often stands in stark contrast to the values of Christ.
Beyond this academic goal, Bishop Feehan also seeks to concurrently build a culture which supports and clearly expresses Gospel values, and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Towards this end, we seek to immerse students in the fullness of the Catholic experience which is more than just an academic experience. Therefore, students are invited to take part in a wide range of Campus Ministry activities, from peer ministry, to service opportunities, to a variety of prayer experiences such as retreats, adoration, and daily Mass. Through these experiences students are encouraged to be transformed by Christ not only intellectually, that is in their knowledge of Christ, by also personally through an encounter with Christ which transforms their heart, will and imagination. Prayer is central to the Bishop Feehan experience. Each day begins with prayer over the intercom. Each and every class also begins with prayer. This commitment to prayer gives weight to the truth that God is the reason why we exist and that without Christ we can do nothing.
Cornerstone to the Catholic experience is the affirmation of the dignity of each human person. This affirmation permeates the school. It is expressed in our mission statement which holds that each person is made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore we strive in all our decisions to treat each other with compassion, justice, and love. And as such, it is not rhetoric when people speak of “the Feehan family”. This Feehan family is a lived reality, a genuine circle of caring and concern for each other. In this sense, we attempt to give flesh to the Body of Christ and to live out our Catholicity in our daily interactions with each other. Central also to our understanding of ourselves as members of Christ’s body, is the commitment to serve those in need and to be the justice we wish to see. Hence, Feehan is a school dedicated to reaching out in a multitude of ways to those in need. Service at Feehan is not only a graduation requirement, it is a commitment that begins here and, hopefully, will continue on for a lifetime, after students graduate.
Faculty and staff are integral in promoting the school’s Catholic identity. Each teacher at Feehan is hired with the understanding that teaching is a vocation (a response to God’s call) and a ministry (a service to families and students to draw others closer to Christ), and that their primary responsibility is to manifest Christ in and outside of the classroom. A requirement of employment is the nurturance of an active faith life by our teachers, no matter what religious affiliation the staff member may have. We believe that if our teachers have and value an active faith life, they will be better able to help our students develop one. Gospel values are taught and caught. Each teacher within their own particular discipline brings to light the truths of the Catholic faith whenever and wherever possible.
No one department within the school bears the sole responsibility for rooting students in a relationship with Christ and His Church. In searching for truth, wherever it might be found, students are in reality searching for and finding God, who is the ultimate Truth. Academics, community building, service to others, participation in athletics and extra curricular activities are all part of the Feehan experience. These activities assist in forming the whole person, intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, ethically, and spiritually. On the ball field, in the art room, or serving at Christ’s Closet (Feehan’s free clothing store for the needy in the Attleboro area) Christ is encountered. To be Catholic is to understand in a very profound way that we encounter God through each other, through the Sacraments, through Scripture, through prayer, through created reality and through the ordinary experiences of daily living. Through their day to day experiences in the classroom and outside the classroom, students are encouraged to “put on” this uniquely sacramental Catholic vision which sees all created reality as an opportunity to draw nearer to the Creator, and all persons as their brothers and sisters in Christ.