FAITHFUL SCHOLARS A Catholic tradition and classical curriculum draw students to Mariamante Academy
- LEFT: Freshman Vincent Wagner (left), 14, watches as freshman Daniel Waid, 15, and junior Ben Coon (right), 16, play football in the parking lot of the First Christian Church. The church is home to Mariamante Academy.
- LEFT: Freshman Vincent Wagner (left), 14, watches as freshman Daniel Waid, 15, and junior Ben Coon (right), 16, play football in the parking lot of the First Christian Church. The church is home to Mariamante Academy.
- LEFT: Freshman Vincent Wagner (left), 14, watches as freshman Daniel Waid, 15, and junior Ben Coon (right), 16, play football in the parking lot of the First Christian Church. The church is home to Mariamante Academy.
- LEFT: Freshman Vincent Wagner (left), 14, watches as freshman Daniel Waid, 15, and junior Ben Coon (right), 16, play football in the parking lot of the First Christian Church. The church is home to Mariamante Academy.
- LEFT: Freshman Vincent Wagner (left), 14, watches as freshman Daniel Waid, 15, and junior Ben Coon (right), 16, play football in the parking lot of the First Christian Church. The church is home to Mariamante Academy.
- LEFT: Freshman Vincent Wagner (left), 14, watches as freshman Daniel Waid, 15, and junior Ben Coon (right), 16, play football in the parking lot of the First Christian Church. The church is home to Mariamante Academy.
Mariamante Academy finds new home in Fredericksburg. The private school offers a Catholic tradition and class curriculum. By Kelly Hannon
Date published: 10/22/2005
OUISE DESILETS, the head of Fredericksburg's Mariamante Academy, has two pictures on her desk.
One is of Mother Teresa, and the second is Desilet's daughter, Julia, a Roman Catholic nun in Rome.
The photographs are framed reminders of the school's Catholic mission--even though Mariamante is not a parochial Catholic school affiliated with the church's Diocese of Arlington.
Mariamante, which means "They love Mary" in Latin, was started by lay members of the Catholic church in Springfield, Mass., including Desilets, in 1995.
Two years ago, facing declining enrollments in Massachusetts due to what Desilets described as a crisis in the priest-hood, Mariamante started to research new locations.
"Large numbers of people were questioning our Catholic faith and our Catholic identity and were not applying to Mariamante," Desilets said.
After consideration of sites in Virginia, North Carolina and western New York, the school was moved to Fredericksburg. Desilets was drawn to the area's potential for growth and proximity to battlefields and presidential homes.
It's now located at Fredericksburg's First Christian Church on Washington Avenue.
"This is the heart of history," Desilets said.
Mariamante educates students in grades seven to 12, and is attempting to do something slightly different from other area private schools.
It has a classical curriculum, including three mandatory years of Latin and religious classes in Catholicism. Teachers focus on grammar, logic and rhetoric. Students attend Mass once a week at St. Mary Catholic Church. Most classes begin with prayers, and there's a dress code. Teachers use the Ignatian method of education, developed by St. Ignatius Loyola, which recognizes the importance of developing students spiritually and intellectually.
In essence, the school's mission is to "develop students intellectually first, spiritually second, emotionally third," Desilets said.
And, so far, Mariamante is the only Fredericksburg-area high school that offers an education in the Catholic tradition.
Catholic business leaders in Stafford County are planning to open another, St. Michael the Archangel High School, in fall 2006 west of the Stafford County courthouse.
There are several other private schools in the Catholic tradition in Virginia, including the Seton School in Manassas and the St. John Neumann School in Woodbridge. Mariamante Academy is also a member of the National Association of Private Independent and Catholic Schools.
JoAnn Gannon, a mother of four in Stafford, wanted to send her two teenage daughters to a Catholic high school that would weave the faith's teachings into the curriculum.
She was impressed by Desilets, and the school's overall environment, and didn't mind Mariamante isn't a parochial school.
"That is not important to me, because I know enough about my Catholic faith to know by talking to the people in charge of the school as to whether or not they are truly following Catholic doctrine, and that's what's important to me," Gannon said.
Mariamante Academy will hold an open house for current and prospective students and their families today from noon to 3 p.m. The school is located at 1501 Washington Ave., in Fredericksburg.
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