Bishop William F. Medley visited St. Mary of the Woods School, Whitesville, on Jan. 20, 2026, to celebrate Mass and to talk with students in the classrooms the week before Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 25-31, 2026) and before the snow delayed other celebrations. COURTESY OF DAVID KESSLER
Snow postpones Catholic Schools Week activities, but school spirit remains
BY RACHEL HALL, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
The week of Jan. 25-31, 2026, celebrated Catholic Schools Week across the nation. The theme this year was “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community,” bringing into focus the value and contributions of Catholic education to students, families, the Church, and the country.
Just before the celebrations began, western Kentucky, along with much of the U.S., experienced a major winter storm that brought with it freezing temperatures and the perfect amount of snow for sledding. This left our 17 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Owensboro on non-traditional instruction (NTI) days. Snowed-in students spent their time balancing NTI assignments, drinking hot chocolate and shoveling snow, a reminder of the warmth and strength in our Catholic school communities.
Catholic Schools Week typically includes activities such as Mass with Bishop Medley, bible trivia, pajama day, and other school-wide celebrations were delayed due to weather and occurred after The Western Kentucky Catholic went to press. Look for coverage of these celebrations in a future issue of the WKC.
Catholic Schools Week celebrations this year – originally scheduled for Jan. 25-31 – were delayed because of inclement weather. During the prior week, Bishop William F. Medley visited with St. Mary of the Woods School in Whitesville. Here, the bishop speaks with a classroom of students. COURTESY OF ST. MARY OF THE WOODS
Originally printed in the February 2026 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
