The Catholic School Leaders Podcast

18 Bishop Bill Byrne
===

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Catholic School Leaders podcast, where we discuss leadership and Catholic education.

I'm John Mihalyo, the president and founder of Elementary Advancement Solutions, dedicated to enhancing Catholic education and connecting Catholic school leaders worldwide. Explore our services at www. elementaryadvancement. com to see how we can help your school beat its leadership, advancement, and growth potential.

Well, it's my honor today to have as a guest on the podcast, Bishop William D. Byrne, the Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Bishop Byrne is a native of Washington, D. C., and he's the youngest of eight children. As a youth, the bishop attended Mater Dei School in Bethesda, Maryland. and went to Georgetown Preparatory School in Rockville, Maryland.

He completed his undergraduate studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He then taught for three years at Mater Dei before accepting, before being accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington, D. C. He studied at the [00:01:00] Pontifical North American College in Rome, completing his laicentiate, in the Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, and was ordained in June of 1994 by Cardinal James A. Hickey. Bishop Byrne is a popular columnist and a YouTube personality with his series Five Things.

highlighting five life hacks, prayer starters, or spiritual meditations to help people grow closer to God, and appreciate the small but vital things in life. This series was so popular that it's been developed into a book, Five Things with Father Bill. Pope Francis named him as the 10th Bishop of Springfield in October of 2020, and Bishop Byrne was ordained and installed as the 10th Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts, on December 14th at St.

Michael's Cathedral in Springfield by Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley. Welcome, Bishop Byrne. It's good to see you.

Thank you, John. It's good to be here.

Well, it's an exciting [00:02:00] time for Catholic education. We're, uh, in the month of May, Catholic schools are getting ready to let out. And so it's a great opportunity for us to talk about everything that's happening in Catholic education today. And I know you are somebody who has always been involved with Catholic education, both as a As a student, as a priest, and now as a bishop.

So talk to our listeners about Catholic education's role in your life.

So, I mean, it's actually foundational to Who I am, uh, you know, the blessing of, of, I went started Catholic school actually in seventh grade. So I didn't actually go to a Catholic elementary school, and then a Catholic high school with the Jesuits at Georgetown prep and then Holy Cross, Catholic ish college.

And then I went back to the, my grammar school and taught for a couple of years before entering the seminary. And then I've always, with the exception of the years, I was chaplain at the University of Maryland. I always was in a parish with a school, uh, and [00:03:00] so that was always tons of fun, but a great experience.

Well, and I think that when you are involved in different aspects of Catholic education, it always gives you a different perspective. And I know the work you did at the University of Maryland, for example, when you were there as a chaplain. You used to pack the, pack the place when, for masses, and it was a very involved community for you.

I always said, um, people said, Oh, what's the best Catholic school, you know, in the DC area? And I would say, Oh, the University of Maryland. I said, because you're not going to get bad theology, you know, you're going to,

The,

the only theology you're going to get is going to be good ones at the Catholic Student Center.

And, um, and we did, we had so many blessings. Uh, we had about 14 men entered the seminary from my time there. Uh, there's about six women in religious life, so it really was a wonderful power and a tons of great marriages. So, very powerful experience.

yielding a lot of fruit indeed from it. [00:04:00] Now, let me ask this. In terms of your, your time as a pastor, uh, at, at a parish with a school, you know, your role has a lot of responsibilities. When you're a pastor, you're wearing a lot of different hats. And then on top of that, you're being asked, or you're being tasked with shepherding a school with potentially several hundred, or maybe in some instances several thousand students.

What do you say to the pastor out there who feels like, you know, this school is just this is a lot This is it or maybe some people say this is a money pit. It's a it's not an investment in our future in Catholic schools How do you as a pastor you're partnering with the school to grow Catholic education?

What would what advice would you have for that person? Is this something you have first hand experience on?

So, a couple things. You know, we are in the school business because we're in the Jesus business. So the, the school is the, is an, a powerful evangelization tool. The, you have families coming in to, [00:05:00] uh, with all different varied religious experiences and through their children are encountering. Christ hopefully if it's done right and done well.

first and foremost, you need to look at it as like one of the great Jesus tools in your You know, in your toolbox, because it's an incredible opportunity to change not just the kids lives, but also, um, the parents lives. And so, the, and I've, I've seen that firsthand. The second thing I would say is that the, you gotta trust your principal.

You gotta make sure you have a principal that you trust, uh, and then my job as a pastor was to be first and foremost a cheerleader, like, the ear where she or he could come in and bounce things off of, but not try to micromanage that person or the school, but [00:06:00] rather to be there As a, as a moral support, but also just as a rah, rah, you're doing great, you know, because they're the front lines of, they're the front lines of, of the whole education system.

They're the ones that meet the upset parents. They're the ones that have to deal with the kid who's, punch the other kid or whatever. and so they, and dealing with the faculty, all of it's really challenging and, and often being paid at a different scale than their peers in the public school system.

and so you have to recognize, hopefully you have somebody that is mission driven, and then your mission is to drive them. Not crazy, but, uh, drive them in a way that just keeps them motivated and happy and, uh, feeling appreciated.

Yeah, because it could be a lonely job. I mean, it being a principal because it's just one wave after the other coming at you. And there's a [00:07:00] lot of great things about being a principal. There's a lot of challenging things about being a principal. And I remember one of our superintendents used to say, there's no better relationship or there's no better indicator of a successful school than the relationship and the partnership between a pastor and a principal.

And I think you hit the nail right on the head with that one. and, and, and if you show me a school, that's just. taken off. I'll bet you that that principal and that pastor are collaborating on an ongoing basis because It's a parish school that there's that collaboration happening.

So one of the things that, you know, we, we in Western Massachusetts and New England in general, um, having come from the archdiocese of Washington, where there's a very vibrant Catholic life, In much of New England has been hard hit in many ways. And in this, the non outside of Boston and places like that, you know, a lot of people aren't moving to Western Massachusetts.[00:08:00]

And so many of our, uh, or the kids graduated from college. Want to go to the big cities. And, uh, so we've had a lot of school closings in the past and mergers and things like that. And so are putting our toe back in the, in the, uh, you know, in the door to get the reopen it. Is to early learning experiences, early learning centers for our, for our parishes.

We have luckily have a voucher system here in Massachusetts.

So pastors have been able to get vouchers and voucher money that really help their bottom line. But then they have suddenly 25 young families being part of their mix. And so, yet again, this is our evangelization. And we, and Massachusetts doesn't care if we talk about Jesus as long as we have those kids.

Safe, you know, and, and so that's what we [00:09:00] do. We talk about Jesus, we're in the Jesus Uhhuh,

And the schools grow the parishes so many times. I mean, the schools will because you're gonna bring those families in. Um, and I think that's such a, uh, you know, looking at the big picture of things. If you have kids in your schools, You're gonna fill your pews in your parishes, which is huge, which is the name of the game right there.

Exactly.

A lot of our schools, you know, there's a lot of challenges that are facing Catholic education today. We know that there's rising costs. We see schools, uh, every year it seems like we read about schools that are closing in large numbers. And, and you talked about the voucher program, you know, and you saw in a state like Illinois where that voucher program was pulled away.

You know, several of our Catholic schools up there were, were forced to close. what do you say to the, to the parent out there who's considering a Catholic education for their son or daughter, but maybe they're afraid to move forward with that investment? Because it's not a one time investment. It's, it's making that commitment that, listen, you're entering [00:10:00] this school maybe as early as Three and four years old as a preschooler, and we want you to go through Catholic education and graduate from a Catholic high school for those areas that have a Catholic high school.

What do you say to that parent out there of why it's worth the investment?

I, it's not a 14 year investment, it's a 90 year investment. It's a lifetime investment. So if you're divided by the aggregate, you're gonna find out that you're, you're not paying that much. And that the, you know, I think one of the benefits of a, I always told parents, I said, as the pastor of parishes with schools, my job is to keep your kid younger, longer, And what the exposure is in public schools is a real challenge morally, ethically.

Uh, What they're, you know, if you look at some of the curriculum that are proposed in, more finger quote [00:11:00] progressive states, the sex ed is pornography, you know, for second graders and you say, what, you, you, This is what you plan to expose a child to, and so our job is to, to protect and also to empower the parents to be able to make decisions that are appropriate for their child and not take that away because some school board has decided, uh, that this is what, uh, This is what, uh, popular agenda is driving them these days.

And so I think that, that that's one of the, you know, keeping your kids protected, they'll get all the world has to give them in plenty of time. but for the moments that you have. It's, it's, it's a precious investment in a lifetime.

Absolutely. And, and, and you hit the nail right on the head of, of protecting our kids. Yes, there, believe me, there, there's plenty of time for [00:12:00] them to have the real world experiences that, that are going to be, they're going to be met with, whether it be graduating from high school, whether it be graduating from college, whether it be, you know, whatever the case might be, Those real world experiences are going to be there for them.

And I think that's something that I always valued was the ability to stave off those conversations for a little bit longer. even on the simple things to the more complex things, uh, it just, the ability to keep those kids There, I use the word sheltered just a little bit longer from the real world that's going to be experiencing, but also to give them the foundation of Christ's love so that they're wearing that armor when they do hit that point where they have to face those conversations.

Absolutely.

So let's shift a little bit here. I see you on social media all the time. Uh, what's going on up in, in Springfield? You're out in your schools, you're everywhere. Zelie is with you, you know, and, and, and just you're leading from the front, not from [00:13:00] your office. And I think that's so important for our students to see.

I think it's important for our faculty to see. I think it's important for our parents to see, our parishioners to see that this is something that's important. It shows that The schools are an investment to you. Tell me why this is so important and what impact you've seen on your diocese as, as the bishop of you taking this approach.

So yeah, I, um, first of all, it's a lot more fun to be out than it is to be sitting in a desk. so that's, it's sort of a selfish thing. But beyond that, I, I tell you the, I told my diocesan staff, I said, I'm not the bishop of an office. I'm the bishop of a diocese. And so I've got to be out in that diocese.

as much as I can. So my favorite thing is to go in for one of our school masses and the kids are like, Hey Bishop, how you been? it's familiar. I'm familiar to them. I'm not, uh, I'm not somebody that shows up and, you know, once every [00:14:00] year or once every two years, whatever. So that always warms my heart when I, when I am greeted nonchalantly by a seventh grader or a high school kid serving the mass.

and, and in reality, the bishop plays an important role in the life of the church. I just was at an ordination in, Portland, Maine and Cardinal O'Malley in his homily said, one of the most important thing the church does is ordain a bishop because the bishop is the continuity of the apostolic faith.

life of the church, the successors of the apostles. Without the bishop, we don't have priests. Without priests, we don't have confessions in Eucharist. So it's the first, first domino in a whole series of, of, uh, the Holy Spirit moments in the life of the church. So that, that, with that in mind, that's why I, I have to be out again as [00:15:00] much as I possibly can, and my dog comes with me because why not?

Why not? Yeah.

she's part of the brand. That's what I say. I'm rebranding the Episcopal, uh, you know, one sniff at a time. And with Zelie going up and licking people and rolling over for belly rubs and stuff. So Zelie's my dog, by the way.

If those that don't know,

St. Zelie Martin, the mother of St. Therese of Lisieux. She and her husband, Zelie Louis Martin.

So if you're listening to this and you don't know who St. Zelie is, Z E L I E with an accent, a goo over the first E, uh, look her up. You're going to fall in love.

you're going to

so that's the idea. Get out

became quite a celebrity during COVID during masses and such

Oh yeah, exactly. He'd make a cameo appearance as wandering around. I

That was always fun to

say that they were trying to, they were thinking about turning it into a drinking [00:16:00] game. That every time Zali appeared in the, on the screen, he had to drink. I said, maybe not that the best idea.

Not the best time and place for that, right?

No, uh,

Well, and I think as a, as a bishop and as just a leader in general, as somebody who's out and is leading from the front, It inspires other people to lead from the front. It's, it's very hard, uh, for, for people who, you know, are in the, or in the diocese serving in a leadership role when they see you out leading from the front to just stay in their office and go, I'm going to be back here.

I think it inspires others to do that as well. It leads by example. Yeah, leads by example. you know, kind of the other piece of that, that you said, tell me the impact of, what you see from that. I mean, you, you mentioned that familiarity, and I know, you know, one of the great things for me as a principal, when I would go into a classroom, And it wasn't a big deal that I was in the room was great to me, because then that means the kids are seeing you a lot, okay?[00:17:00]

If when you walk in, everybody stops what they're doing and sits up straight, it's like, okay, I'm not getting in here enough because they're nervous that I'm here. I think that's a, that's a great testament to what you're doing up there.

And that's the, that's the hope is to, you know, like I said earlier, New England is a challenging church environment and, uh, you know, a lot of the priests have been through the ringer and they need that moral and fraternal support to let them know what a great job they're really doing and how important their life is in the preaching of the gospel and the living of the, and the life of the church.

So,

and I think iron sharpens iron on that one. And right there, and when you can, when you can feel supported, and when you can, you know, have somebody there to lift you up on those, because, because we all know, hey. Not every day when you're going to be out and about, it's like, Oh, I didn't sleep well last night or, or, you know, whatever, [00:18:00] but you know, and I, I remember Michael Crawford once said when he was the Phantom of the Opera, he said, this might be the only time somebody is going to see me play this role.

So I owe it to them to be on top of my game as best as possible. And so, you know, maybe it's a confirmation mass or an ordination. And I had the chance to go to a Bishop's ordination or Bishop's installation a few years ago. It's a beautiful ceremony. Beautiful

yeah,

It's a beautiful

powerful.

As Catholic leaders, we obviously, we want to advance Catholic education.

Where do you see the low hanging fruit for us? Where, what are the bigger challenges? And how do you feel like we can deal with those to play on offense and not defense right now?

I think, you know, the question is, is how do you differentiate yourself in the education market? You know what? How are you going to if you're going to ask somebody to pay thousands of dollars? For something that they can get free around the corner, or not free, but [00:19:00] paid for already in their taxes, what's going to differentiate you?

I see incredibly exciting things happening with, um, to the classical curricula. You know, that, that the introduction, we're blessed in this diocese, that Thomas Aquinas College from Ojai, California, opened a New England campus. They're one of the great books curricula in the country, in a truly powerfully Catholic environment.

and that sort of sets an example, I think, uh, of for what, what, what a Catholic school can be, to differentiate itself. You know, so many of our Catholic, finger quote, Catholic, colleges, are rushing to be as secular as possible and, uh, you know, bumping into each other, talking about the patriarchy, when in fact they could be talking about Jesus and salvation and trying to get people prepared for [00:20:00] heaven, um, by bringing it here on earth and caring for each other and the poor.

And so I think that that's one really very exciting opportunity. I think the other thing that we have to, uh, really push in our marketing is that we have the capacity to educate the whole child. So, we don't just educate the mind and we don't just have great sports teams, we also are in the soul business.

So, we can, we can look and look at the whole person, mind, body, and spirit, and not, you know, Cut one third of the person out and not talk about it. and in that we then can affect in a whole family and, and help them sort of stay rooted. In, in what's really important. And so I think that how we talk about and how we market ourselves needs to set us, show us the world.

[00:21:00] Yeah. We are different and it's makes a huge, makes a huge, uh, impact in the life of a child.

We're different in a really good way. Look at, look at what we're doing. And I think you pointed this out earlier that, you know, we have the opportunity to have the children in our school, but we're evangelizing the families. And we used to always, I made it a point whenever we would have a certain group of kids receive the sacrament of confession, I'd put it out in the newsletter.

Hey, our fourth graders went to confession today. With the hope that maybe it would, it would, uh, hey, I went to confession day. Mom, when's the last time you went to, you know, and it almost puts that little bit of pressure on the parents to say, okay, yeah, I've got to go do this as well. and I, I think too, I remember very vividly that a, a very, uh, wise priest, who, who married me said that my job as a husband was to get my wife to heaven.

That was my first and foremost job. Uh, and I think you know who that person is. [00:22:00] So, uh,

known her for 30 years, so.

so, uh, so that's, that's our primary job as, as, as parents is to get our kids to heaven and, and it's for our kids to hopefully help us. It's a, I think that's the piece right there when you talk about educating the whole child. We can do so much more than just book learning and tests and things like that.

Full disclosure to those who are listening, John's wife was in my teen club when I was a brand new baby priest 30 years ago, and so I've known her for a long, long time and been friends with her and her amazing family for, for a couple, three decades, so it's a great blessing.

And they all said to tell you hello and that they were praying for you as well. So,

That's the

wonderful family indeed. So as, as we kind of wrap up here, what's your vision for Catholic education in the Diocese of Springfield, say over the next five years?

Well, I think what we have to [00:23:00] do, I'm in the midst of a capital campaign and an important part of that is to raise money, because we need to, we need to make sure that Catholic education is for every kid and is accessible, but we also really need to, to have faculty enrichment, you know, we have a lot of very young people.

amazing men and women who have committed to Catholic education at a sacrifice. So we need to sort of minimalize that sacrifice and maximize the, the, the, the mission and the gift that they bring. So I think that's one from my perspective, is to make sure that we have, uh, that we create opportunities for.

As many people to access Catholic education, that want it and, and so, uh, affordability, accessibility are two very key, but also academic excellence and that's supporting our faculty

And [00:24:00] I think there are,

making sure that we, that we always remember that we're in the Jesus business. And that that's, he is the center of all that we do and the goal of all that we do, um, and we can never lose sight of that.

and I think there are so many people out there that are willing to support Catholic education, okay? There are people out there, maybe they, you know, hey my kids went through Catholic school and now they're grown and, and, uh, you know. They want to support Catholic education. They've just never been asked and I think that's the key right there is is getting your your advancement office in place to make those asks and to give those people the opportunity to sponsor a part of a tuition or to sponsor a scholarship opportunity or things like that because It's a gift that just keeps paying forward.

Uh, there's no losers in that one. No losers in that one. So, well, I want to thank Bishop Burns so much for his time today. It's been a pleasure [00:25:00] speaking with you. You know you're in our prayers, uh, in, in, throughout the course of your time up in, in Springfield and, and just can't thank you enough for taking the time

John, thanks for asking me and great seeing you and great being with you.

If you're enjoying the Catholic School Leaders podcast, please be sure to like and subscribe, and don't forget to share these podcasts with other Catholic school leaders in your network.