Bishop Sweeney to be honored with Lumen Gentium Award at Boonton school gala

Our Lady of Mount Carmel School (OLMC) and Lumen Gentium Academy in Boonton will honor Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney at the 2024 Light of the World Gala on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at The Park Savoy in Florham Park.

Bishop Sweeney will receive the Lumen Gentium Award for Education and Letters. 

“We’re so grateful to have the bishop’s support. He understands better than most that building an excellent Catholic school is a true labor of love. His affirmation of our efforts means a lot to our community and me personally,” said Father Daniel O’Mullane, pastor of OLMC Parish.

The gala is the premiere fundraising event for OLMC, which provides a classical Catholic education. The educational ministry serves more than 400 students and their families with children and teens in a lower school — pre-K through fifth grade — middle school — sixth through eighth grade — and high school, Lumen Gentium. Pre-kindergarten is taught in the Montessori tradition. 

Johanna Webber, communications director, said educators “focus the children’s attention on truth, beauty, and goodness.” The institution’s culture of active learning and engagement with grade-appropriate and rigorous academic inquiry is “hands-on and open-minded in a collaborative search for truth,” she said.

Parents appreciate how their children “are excited about learning” and come home and share what they have experienced in the classroom, said Webber, a mother of eight children, seven of whom have attended OLMC.

OLMC serves a diverse community of families and students from two states, eight counties, and four dioceses. Education is centered on four “goods”: classical liberal arts, Catholic identity, academic excellence, and good character formation.

Guided by the motto “Lumen Gentium,” or “a light to nations,” the school nurtures a culture that equips students to bring the light of Christ to everyone they encounter. That includes encouraging sacramental devotion with an appreciation for the rites and traditions of the Church.

“Students love Fridays,” said Webber, “not because it means no school for two days, but because they go to Mass and Benediction.”

Parents and students like being part of a community that reaches out to support one another, especially when members are experiencing difficult situations, said Ivan Arocho, OLMC’s director of stewardship and mission advancement. He is a father of seven children, six of whom attend OLMC.

“We walk together in the journey of faith through charity. My children are consistently challenged to go beyond themselves, both in and outside the classroom,” Arocho said. 

Founded in 1863 to serve immigrant families, OLMC was reimagined and relaunched in 2016 as a classical institution.

“Word spread and it caught on like wildfire,” Webber said.

While similar schools exist around the United States, OLMC is unique in New Jersey and is a model for what a parish school can look like in the Church, Webber and Arocho said.

The gala is OLMC’s largest fundraiser. The event provides financial scholarships, supports teacher development, and helps fund campus projects. 

“Our students are being educated to take on leadership positions — thoughtfully, lovingly, and courageously whether within the Church or broader society. This is a beacon of real hope,” Webber said. “That is why we want to keep tuition humane. We believe every child is called to something great. And we are the bridge between them and where they are called.”

The gala will begin at 6 p.m. on Nov. 20. To purchase a ticket, table, tribute, or sponsorship or participate in the auction for the gala, visit www.olmc.academy/gala

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