The Catholic Foundation shared the great news that 81 students have been awarded a total of $186,775 for the 2017-2018 school year as Bishop’s, Faith, Hunt, Miles, Msgr. Smith, and Saucedo Scholars.

Most of the scholarship aid was distributed from scholarship endowed funds, with the remainder coming from donations and a generous grant from the Hunt Family Foundation.

The Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso will host the 5th Annual Foundation Scholars Prayer Breakfast_ _on Thursday, August 24 from 7:30-9:00 a.m. at the El Paso Club to recognize Foundation scholarship recipients attending Catholic schools in El Paso. The Foundation currently manages 83 separate endowment funds for charities, ministries, parishes, and schools. Of these, 25 funds are designated for Catholic schools, including the Bishop’s Scholarship Fund, the Cathedral High School Alumni Association Fund, and the Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Smith Scholarship Fund. The funds have a combined value of $6.6 million; each one of El Paso’s schools has at least one endowed fund for scholarships.

Most Reverend Mark J. Seitz, D.D., Bishop of El Paso, announced the establishment of the Soñador Scholarship Fund, managed by the Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso, at a press conference and unveiling of his Pastoral Letter on Migration to the People of God in the Diocese of El Paso at Sacred Heart Church on July 18, 2017. The fund was established with a gift of $20,000.

In honor of Monsignor Smith’s retirement in 2015, a scholarship fund for St. Raphael School was established to help preserve St. Raphael’s mission well into the future. Reverend Monsignor Francis J. Smith served as the pastor of St. Raphael Parish for 29 years. An energetic and attentive leader, Monsignor Smith is admired for his humor and tenacity.

Recently, Deborah and James Llewellyn established the Nancy Mendez Saucedo Scholarship Fund for Father Yermo High School in honor of Deborah’s mother, who, as a single parent, worked and sacrificed so Deborah and her sister could attend Father Yermo High School and receive a high-quality Catholic education in an all-girls institution.

Your generous gifts will help us provide more scholarships to deserving students from all over El Paso for years to come. Celebrate Catholic Education!