“Since parishes don’t have high schools, this partnership is particularly important. We want to help kids grow and go back to be lay leaders in their parishes, as teens and into adulthood,” Dr. Erika Mickelburgh, Saint Viator High School principal, said.
“We hope that, even after graduating, they remain faithful Catholics as a lifelong choice. It’s an ongoing invitation for us to help students take what they’ve learned and carry it forward into parish life.”
Dr. Erika Mickelburgh often serves as a Eucharistic Minister at Saint Viator Masses.
As both a longtime Catholic school administrator and a parent who sent her children to Catholic schools, Erika understands the complementarity needed. She has a clear vision for Saint Viator High School. “We want our students to grow and live their faith in our school, so we need Catholic identity to be strong in everything we do – not just campus ministry but also classrooms, athletics, and more,” Erika said. “We’re seeking balance between what we do here at school and encouraging active participation in their parishes. Our school needs to be mindful of programming to ensure families have space to remain engaged in their parishes and go to Sunday Mass.”
Ryan Aiello, Saint Viator High School president, spends a lot of time and energy connecting with partner parishes and their schools, and he shares this vision. “Done well, we hope Saint Viator feels like a natural extension of parishes in faith life, academics, and community. We hope to carry forward the traditions, values, and sense of belonging that have already shaped our students at their parishes,” Ryan said. “Each parish and school brings something distinctive to Saint Viator, and when those communities come together here, they help shape who we are. We want every student who enters Saint Viator to know: this is where you belong.”
Viatorian Hospitality and Collaboration
Ryan Aiello receives Eucharist from Fr. John Eustice, CSV, at a Saint Viator Mass.
Moderators, coaches, and leaders at Saint Viator seek out crossover with partner parishes. “We try to connect and build these relationships in many ways, including hosting students from those schools for special theatre performances, having our teams attend local parishes for Mass, having administration and faculty members attend events and awards ceremonies at each school, and inviting local pastors to celebrate Mass, Reconciliation, and Eucharistic Adoration with us,” Ryan said.
Diocesan priests are regulars at Saint Viator, and a few of them are alumni, too – including Fr. Terry Keehan, SVHS ’74, who is pastor of Holy Family Catholic Community in nearby Inverness, IL. These priests often come to celebrate Mass or hear confessions.
Another familiar face is Fr. Ed Fialkowski, who grew up in the northwest suburbs. Fr. Ed was the longtime pastor of Our Lady of Wayside Parish, which is also in Arlington Heights, IL, and served as associate pastor for St. Theresa Parish in neighboring Palatine, IL. Plus, his father’s cousin was a Viatorian – Fr. Ray Field, CSV (1920-2008). Fr. Ed also served on Saint Viator’s Board of Trustees for several years and still often assists with sacraments.
Fr. Ed Fialkowski preaches at Mass. (Source: OLPH Glenview YouTube)
“From when I walk in the front door and check in with security, I’m welcomed, treated professionally, and known as a familiar friend who is there to help. That makes a big difference to me, knowing I belong in this community,” Fr. Ed said. “Collaboration is the future of Catholic education and the Catholic Church, and that’s a good direction for us to go together.”
The shared ministry is a two-way street, as Viatorians go out to help in the area. For example, just as Holy Family Pastor Fr. Terry often comes to assist at the school, Fr. Corey Brost, CSV, celebrates Masses at the parish on the third Sunday of each month. Fr. Ed appreciates Viatorians’ consistency in helping at the parishes – and how they connect with Saint Viator families while there. “At Wayside, they’d see students and families, and there was always personal interaction. Viatorians reach out to be part of these parishes. Then they make very clear to the students that they belong to several communities – that includes their home parish as well as the Saint Viator faith community,” Fr. Ed said. “That clarity of vision is key in forming people well.”
In addition to the teamwork, these priests enjoy a kinship in their vocations, too. “Viatorians at the high school invite us over for gatherings, and that openness builds these relationships. There’s a great sense of conversation and fraternity among the priests,” Fr. Ed said. “That translates well to how we work together and serve the students.”
Our associates appreciate the shared ministry, too – especially Associate Ann Perez, the school’s vice president for mission and identity. “I enjoy getting to know the priests who are serving in the local parishes, and these relationships help us be great partners. Working well together better supports the faith development of these young people,” Ann said. “When these priests come for Mass or confessions, it reinforces for our students the connection between their parishes and their school, and how they are complementary parts in their faith journey.”
Strong Catholic Education in Parish Schools and Our High School
“We are very proud of our curriculum at Holy Family. Connecting with STEM, we like to focus on STREAM to include religion and the arts, too,” Fr. Terry said of his school’s inquiry-based curriculum. “All of that prepares our students to step into a rigorous curriculum at Saint Viator.”
Fr. Terry Keehan often celebrates Sacraments for Saint Viator, as he did here with (left to right) Fr. Dudley Pierre, CSV, Fr. Tom von Behren, CSV, and Fr. Jeandidier Sohotodé, CSV.
In addition to strong formation, Saint Viator brings stability and professionalism. During his time on the Saint Viator board, Fr. Ed particularly admired the expertise of school leadership in sustaining and growing enrollment. “I was very impressed at their research on demographics and trends and knowing our area,” Fr. Ed said. “They were often ahead of the curve.”
Long after his days as a student, Fr. Terry came to appreciate the Viatorian charism more deeply while serving as the archdiocesan vocation director and working with religious communities. Fr. Terry is particularly intentional in his spirituality of work, so, in further getting to know the Viatorians, he was drawn to the language of our founder, the Venerable Louis Querbes: “People are bolder when they dream they’re doing God’s work.”
“I came across this statement and liked it so much that I posted it in our gym at Holy Family. I reference it as the core of what Saint Viator is all about,” Fr. Terry said. “Work is more than a career or a job; it reflects the many ways we work on many different things. This inspires me because it grounds us in doing God’s work.”
Fr. Arnold Perham, CSV, seen here in the 1964-65 yearbook, ministered at Saint Viator for nearly 60 years. He passed away in 2025.
Fr. Terry also speaks from personal experience as an alumnus. It was Fr. Bill Zavaski, his associate pastor at his childhood parish St. James in Arlington Heights, who decisively nurtured his budding vocation to priesthood; then it was his Saint Viator basketball coach Ed Wasielewski who did not think twice about excusing young Terry from the first week of practice so Terry could attend a discernment retreat. Academically, the innovative programs pioneered by Fr. Patrick Render, CSV, Br. Leo Ryan, CSV, and Viatorian teachers engaged him intellectually and connected him to a junior college communications internship as a curricular activity while still in high school. In athletics, as much as he loved basketball and excelled to the point of earning a college athletic scholarship, it was the power of community in Saint Viator sports that impacted him most.
A favorite story for Fr. Terry was a hallway encounter with his math teacher, Fr. Arnold Perham, CSV. “I was always bad at math, and during senior year, I had Fr. Perham. He would often just ask people, ‘Where you going to college?!’ And he had interesting replies for everyone,” Fr. Terry recalled. “So, one day as I was walking down the hall toward him, he said, ‘Keehan! Where are you going to college?!’ So, I shared the college scholarship offers I was considering. Without stopping, he said, ‘Not if you don’t pass Math 4!’ I wasn’t really in danger of failing the course, but that shot of humility just cracked me up.”
Persisting in Partnership
Earnest collaboration helps keep the school strong as Saint Viator continues to draw from many parishes and parochial schools.
Associate Ann Perez appreciates building relationships with parish priests and helping model for students how parishes and Saint Viator work together as key communities for them.
“I recall all the things that helped me enter Saint Viator as a boy and leave as a man. I received great mentorship and support,” Fr. Terry said. “Holy Family is pleased to partner with Saint Viator and try to help our kids be formed in Catholic faith for life.”
“There’s some amazing things the Viatorians do that are unique and clearly part of the charism,” Fr. Ed said. “I hope they never lose that because it’s wonderful and sets them apart as distinct and special in our Church.”
While fewer Viatorian religious may serve at the school full-time, Viatorian associates such as Ann, school alumni and all their colleagues across the faculty and staff, and kindred-spirited leaders like Erika and Ryan strive to carry this forward together.
“Parents choose Catholic schools to prioritize faith formation and a strong sense of community for their kids. When we can engage young people in prayer, service, and more here, they are more likely to keep their faith going as adults,” Erika said. “What we do here as faculty, staff, and administration is a ministry and a vocation. It can’t only be academics; it also has to be faith formation – and not just in religion class.”
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