August | 2026 VOL 35 NO 12
IN THIS ISSUE
TO COAST NEW LESSON PLAN A4 ADiocesan B1 SENSORY-FRIENDLY B1 COAST Our Lady of Lourdes Office of Individuals with special needs are Catholic Schools reorganizing operations
benefiting from a new Mass with their faith life in mind
parishioner bicycles across the United States
Catholic commentary ....................... A3 Parish news ....................................... B4 Diocesan calendar ............................ B5 Columns ..........................................B6-7 Catholic schools ............................. B10 La Cosecha ............................Section C
Student surge Enrollment up at Diocese of Knoxville schools amid Church growth in East Tennessee By Bill Brewer
STEVE COY/SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL SCHOOL
T
he early numbers are in, and the results reveal an exciting, healthy trend in Catholic education in East Tennessee. Student enrollment is up again at Diocese of Knoxville schools as the 2026-27 academic year gets underway. School principals have submitted initial enrollment information to the Office of Catholic Schools revealing that classroom populations in the diocese are ascending. The welcome news comes as shifts in Catholic-school enrollment across the United States show increases in some parts of the country and decreases in other regions. The takeaway is more students are attending diocesan elementary and high schools. The percentage growth tracks with a rising number of people joining the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Knoxville and the rapidly rising population of the area as more people move to Tennessee from other parts of the country. Another factor could be the impact of the state Education Freedom Scholarships, now entering their second school year, which make Catholic schools more affordable to more families. “This is a very exciting time for our Catholic schools in the Diocese of Knoxville. The fiveyear upward trend is something to be examined as we prepare for the future, considering paths of growth in continuing our mission of excellence, preparing scholars, leaders, and saints who will carry on the Catholic legacy,” said Martha Mundine, the new superintendent
A new academic year Aug. 3-7 was the first week of class for the Diocese of Knoxville's 10 schools. Teachers and principals welcomed more than 3,000 students as enrollment continues to rise. of schools for the diocese. Mrs. Mundine joins the Diocese of Knoxville from the Archdiocese of New Orleans, where she served as deputy superintendent of a Catholic education system with 66 schools. The Diocese of Knoxville’s eight foundational schools and two high schools are St. Dominic in Kingsport, St. Mary in Johnson City, Knoxville
Catholic High School, St. Mary in Oak Ridge, St. John Neumann in Farragut, St. Joseph in Knoxville, Sacred Heart Cathedral School in Knoxville, Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga, and St. Jude, also is in Chattanooga, as well as the Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret
A leap of faith
Schools continued on page A20
Martha Mundine settles into role as superintendent of Church schools in ET By Bill Brewer
ELEYANA NAHIGIAN
F
or Catholics, many decisions are based on faith. Then there are the leaps of faith that can help define a person and their vocation. Martha Mundine made such a leap earlier this year when she left the low country of her native Gulf Coast for the hills of East Tennessee to become the Diocese of Knoxville’s new superintendent of schools. As she and her husband, David, and their daughter, Katherine, relocated to East Tennessee, she was confident and joyful in the decision she had made—teaching about Jesus Christ to thousands of students while supporting and promoting Catholic education in a part of the country burgeoning with the Catholic faith. Her first days on the job were in April and May, when she worked closely with retiring superintendent George Valadie to learn about the diocese and its eight foundational schools: St. Dominic in Kingsport, St. Mary in Johnson City, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Jude in Chattanooga, St. Mary in Oak Ridge, St. John Neumann in Farragut, and St. Joseph and Sacred Heart in Knoxville, as well as its two high schools, Knoxville Catholic and Notre Dame in Chattanooga, in addition to the Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret Clitherow in Knoxville. In getting to know Ms. Mundine, students, faculty, parents, and parishioners will see that she is a wife of 33 years, mother of two children (Katherine, 23, and Ryan, 29), a grandmother, and a
Taking the reins Martha Mundine, a fifth-generation educator, begins the 2026-27 academic year as the Diocese of Knoxville's new superintendent of schools. career Catholic schools educator. Martha Mundine may not have had a choice but to become an educator. Apparently, it’s in her family DNA. “I’m a fifth-generation educator. It’s all my
mother’s side of the family. Going way back, my great-great-grandmother was a teacher. I mean, this is in the 1800s. My great-grandmother taught school. My grandmother and my grandfaSuperintendent continued on page A8