Once a Cardinal, Always a Cardinal: A place of study, faith, and community since 1956

By Paul Dusseault

COLORADO SPRINGS. It was 1956 when Divine Redeemer Catholic School opened its doors. Colorado Springs had just been chosen as the site for the United States Air Force Academy. The popular Christmas-themed amusement park, Santa’s Workshop, had just opened in the Manitou bluffs, and Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” topped the pop charts. This small town reflected the bustling optimism of post-war America and a surge in families and family size – the soon-to-be-transformative baby boom – was well underway.

Divine Redeemer School, two miles east of downtown, grew in enrollment and reputation.  In 1959, a major expansion added eight classrooms and an upstairs office. Then came a gymnasium, a kindergarten, a middle school, and a pre-kindergarten.  Initially staffed by the Sisters of Charity who ventured from Cincinnati to teach in the “mission territory” of Colorado, “D-R” typified the iconic 1960s Catholic grade school that lives fondly in so many memories and more than one Bing Crosby movie.

And so the fact that the current 8th grade will be the last graduating class of Divine Redeemer was met with as much grim angst by the deliverers of the news as the recipients. “For almost 70 years, Divine Redeemer Catholic School has served its parish and community with exceptional grace and faithfulness,” wrote the Bishop James Golka in a December letter to school families. “Divine Redeemer School accomplished the mission put before it all those years ago. Now it is apparent…that this mission has been fulfilled.”

Pages turn.  Chapters close. Eras end. Spring 2025 is the last semester at Divine Redeemer Catholic School.

Student enrollment at the school was robust for decades, peaking at more than 700 in 1965. New wings were added to the school building even as a waiting list formed and classrooms verged on bursting. Many parishioners attended the school as children, then enrolled their children, who enrolled their children.  But over the years, major changes in demographics and society forced the closure decision. 

In the late 1950s the population of Colorado Springs was less than the current seating capacity of Denver’s Mile High Stadium. Today, it’s approaching a million. But the lion’s share of that growth has been north and east of downtown, miles from the Divine Redeemer campus. 

Family size also has been declining. In the 1960s, American Catholic families averaged four children, and families with five or even 10 children were not uncommon.  Today, American Catholic families average two children. 

Though numbers ebbed and flowed, last fall the parish leadership, in consultation with the diocese, concluded that the current enrollment of 137 students was not sustainable. “The ending of this phase of God’s plan for Divine Redeemer School does nothing to diminish the many years of faithful service the school provided to thousands of students and their families,” wrote Bishop Golka in his letter to families.  Teachers, staff, and alumni of the school are using the precious remaining months of operation to reminisce and ponder the many ways this Colorado Springs institution has affected, enriched, and improved their lives.

Family Affair

Divine Redeemer always has enjoyed a reputation of strong family involvement. “It’s never been the kind of school where parents drop off their kids and then wash their hands of their education,” said Janet Damerell, administrative assistant and director of admissions at the school, as well as a mother (and grandmother) of several alumni.  “Parents volunteer in the lunch room, help with community service projects, staff the food pantry, contribute to our clothing drives, plan our seasonal events. Everyone pitches in.”

Indeed, it was parents – greatly visible in the school operations – that helped convince at least one job candidate that Divine Redeemer was a good professional fit.  “When I arrived at the school for an interview I saw parents in the halls, parents coaching sports, parents assisting teachers, parents supervising the playground,” said Jim Rigg, principal from 2005 to 2010.  “I thought, this is the kind of school I want to be part of.”

Rigg was in for an education himself.  To celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary, he authorized a volunteer group to field an Oktoberfest-themed party. “We had never done anything like it,” he recalled. “I didn’t know how many supplies to order, how much food to prepare, how many tables to set up, how much space to reserve.  When the day finally came, we were mobbed.  The whole place was completely taken over by parents, friends, family members, even a contingent from the school’s immediate neighborhood.  I never again underestimated the desire for parents to be involved.  They wanted to be part of the school experience.”

“The devotion of students’ families to the school was nothing short of extraordinary,” recalled Father Brian Roeseler, pastor of Divine Redeemer parish from 2015 to 2019. “Many drove 30 minutes or more to bring their kids to the school and to participate in the weekly Mass, plan liturgies, assist in ministries and various activities.  The school community became a de facto second parish community under the Divine Redeemer Catholic Church umbrella.”

Pat Van Meter, who now tends to some volunteer functions for the parish, had several children in the school beginning in the 1970s. “We got very involved immediately via the PTA and other activities,” she recalled. “My husband coached basketball for eight years and we attended what seemed like hundreds of games in that gymnasium.  I still keep up with some of those families we worked with decades ago. They became life-long friends.”

Perhaps the most striking demonstration of how the school both builds and expresses Christian community has been during personal trials. “I always have been most impressed by our school families when something goes wrong,” said Colleen Ramic, the current principal of Divine Redeemer School. “When a family is struggling with unemployment, with a serious illness, with the loss of a loved one, word gets around and suddenly there’s a collection, or a babysitting schedule, or a meal train. I get calls in the office, people asking: ‘What do they need?  What more can we do?’  These families are always there for you.  They are the people you turn to.”

And sometimes that charitable reflex pays off in dollars and cents. “We just had a fellow here last month who repaired our heating system,” recalled Father Jason Keas, pastor of Divine Redeemer Parish and alumnus of Divine Redeemer School. “He said, ‘Your school families were a great support to my family years ago when my wife had cancer.  God bless you all.  No charge.’”

It’s no wonder Divine Redeemer directs its formal mission not at the school per se, but at the collective: The Divine Redeemer Catholic Community unites in word and example to challenge students through faith, academics, and service to live the values of the Roman Catholic Church in a changing world.

Faith in Action

On Jan. 26, the school hosted an open house to celebrate thousands of alumni and seven decades of service. The halls were lined with historic photographs, student art work, and old yearbooks. Former students (now adults) shared stories and secrets.  “We used to wrap notes around pencils and drop them out the classroom window so we could read them at recess.”  “Once we bounced on a cafeteria table so hard it collapsed.” “This is where I sat outside the principals’ office when I got in trouble for flicking a spit ball at the blackboard.” 

But mostly, they shared stories of the school’s many methods of faith formation.  In addition to preparing students for the sacraments of Reconciliation, Holy Communion, and Confirmation, annual traditions included a Christmas Pageant, complete with re-enactment of the Nativity, and, during Lent, Living Stations of the Cross, complete with a re-enactment of Christ’s Passion. “During Advent, we hosted a ‘Glowsary,’” recalled Father Roeseler. “After sunset, students and parents used glowsticks to represent beads and we would pray the Rosary at the nativity scene.”

“Of course we value strong academics,” said principal Ramic, “but our desired product is strong, good, responsible human beings.  We are determined to make saints.”

These formal occasions and ceremonies were just part of the school’s expression of the faith. Divine Redeemer’s Catholicity was endemic, pervasive, and atmospheric. “We worked hard to integrate the faith into the daily functioning of the school,” recalled past principal Jim Rigg.  “Father Jim Klein, our pastor during my time, was usually on the playground with the kids, or roaming the lunch room, or working with the teachers. He was a very positive and visible priestly presence.”

Prayer opens every school day via the public address system, with pupils from various grades rotating the lead.  Students spontaneously break into a Hail Mary when they hear a passing siren.  They routinely write notes of support to priests around the diocese.

 “We pulled an annual theme from Scripture as a sort of gathering tool,” recalled Marjie Weldele, principal from 2010 to 2018.  “It would be a call-and-response.  One was from Hebrews 12:2. The teacher would say, ‘Fix your eyes . . .’ and students would respond, ‘on Jesus.’  It was a device to quiet them down when it was time to concentrate, but also a way to keep our religion at the center of things. Faith formation was the greatest goal of my heart, and one of the reasons I am so happy to have been a part of the school.”

Faith formation also took the form of frequent and grand service projects.  Stuff-the-Van Day collected baby items for single mothers; student assembly lines created “compassion bags” for the homeless filled with toothpaste, soap, socks, and granola bars; coats and gloves were collected each October for families in need. The school even hosted a 6 a.m. Eye Opener Breakfast where pajamas were collected for the children of local foster families. 

“My favorite service project was the Mile-of-Food Drive to stock the Divine Redeemer food pantry,” recalled Weldele. “Each class collected as much food as possible, and it was laid end-to-end until we had a mile of food.”  (Spaghetti was credited per package, not per strand.)

Moving On

To the parents and families disrupted by the closure of Divine Redeemer Catholic School, Ramic points to this year’s school theme: Do not be afraid; just have faith. (Mark 5:36).

“It speaks to me not only for this year, but for every day,” she said.  Parents of all enrolled students (which includes Ramic herself) have received a chart comparing the offerings of other area Catholic elementary schools, several of which have already hosted open houses and tours for Divine Redeemer families.

“The end of things is always difficult,” said Father Keas. “But hopefully affected families will pray in discernment to determine the best course for their family and involve God in those decisions.”

Ramic said that the Divine Redeemer School family intends to “go out strong.”

Planning is underway for an End-of-School Party on May 22, beginning at noon and sure to last into the evening, she said.