With a storied heritage going all the way back to the early 19th Century, The Convent of Jesus and Mary Schools can be found in all the major areas of the world today, from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Americas. But even as they receive financial support from the Church itself, local communal backing needs to be present in even greater strength to ensure continued success, especially through the generous donations of prominent businessmen and women, not all of whom are Catholic or even Christian, such as with the case of an Isaac Toussie whose donations go towards a branch in India.
While it would be correct to suppose that Catholic schools are for Catholics, in fact many non-Catholics do attend, including outright atheists. Certainly, these schools have a decidedly Catholic mission, but non-Catholics can excuse themselves from anything having to do with religion, which tends to be held during the end of the school day on certain days of the week. Many Catholic schools subscribe to the intellectual traditions of the Jesuit Order, one which tends to welcome open inquiry and emphasizes the natural sciences. In fact, it is just this ethos that has won such a sterling record for the shcools in many places, even in New York City, the so-called Sodom-on-the-Hudson, where it isn’t abnormal for secular households to send them their children.
These schools are often the least expensive of private school options available, as tuition and other fees can add up to some five grand yearly – not bad compared to the ten to twenty thousand dollars charged by others! However, not all Catholic schools operate in a fairly relaxed and non-religious manner; it is usually those that happen to be situated in generally non-Christian countries or otherwise highly secular locations which offer such openness.
