Chesterton Pearl Gala features ‘huge news’

Headmaster Zach Summers announces that Bishop Beckman has canonically recognized the school

By Dan McWilliams

The third annual Pearl Gala benefiting the Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret Clitherow on Feb. 15 featured the biggest announcement in the young Knoxville school’s history.

Founding headmaster Zach Summers told the 100 supporters attending the gala at Bearden Banquet Hall that Bishop Mark Beckman has canonically recognized Chesterton, bringing it under the auspices of the Diocese of Knoxville’s Office of Catholic Schools. It becomes the 11th school in the diocese and the first one added to the diocesan rolls since St. John Neumann School in Farragut opened in 1997.

Chesterton Academy in Knoxville took root four and a half years ago and officially opened Aug. 9, 2023, in a storefront on the east side of town before moving this past fall to a larger West Knoxville site.

The big announcement “is huge news,” said Mr. Summers, a parishioner of Holy Ghost in Knoxville.

“This is the best news we’ve seen in the last four and a half years,” he said. “There are many who have waited to hear, both institutions and individuals, whether or not we have recognition from the local bishop, even if we have explained that we are canonical. This is a local seal of approval, which really gives authenticity to our claims and I hope helps with enrollment.”

Chesterton was “canonically already a private association of the faithful and therefore a Catholic organization,” Mr. Summers said.

“The bishop’s office has made that clear. By virtue of our baptism, we’re already a Catholic organization,” he said. “What this announcement says, coming from the bishop, is that the diocese, the bishop, recognizes us as a Catholic organization. . . . It’s basically a seal of approval with the bishop recognizing us.”

Chesterton is an autonomous school, Mr. Summers noted.

“Most people don’t understand that 99 percent of Catholic schools are what you might call parochial Catholic schools,” he said. “However, given the fact that they’re in the 99 percent, often the ‘parochial’ bit is dropped and it’s just ‘Catholic schools,’ but there exists another 1 percent that are homeschools or autonomous Catholic schools.

“That’s what we are—an autonomous Catholic school. . . . We will have to report to the bishop for our catholicity, and at any point our recognition could be withdrawn, and we will be under the supervision of the superintendent of Catholic Schools. We will be part of the diocesan Catholic Schools, but they will respect our autonomy. They serve to some extent as advisers, but they keep us from in any way violating our catholicity. If you look at the bylaws our school has, which come directly from the Chesterton Schools Network, we ourselves say that if we ever violate our catholicity, we would hope and expect that the local diocese would hold us accountable.”

Chesterton has nine students enrolled with nine more slotted for next year, Mr. Summers said. The curriculum is officially a ninth- and 10th-grade one, but students in ninth through 12th grades may enroll, he added.

“We’re hoping for more,” he said. “Our goal is 30, starting in the fall of 2025.”

Silent, live, and raise-the-paddle auctions at the gala raised more than $177,000 for Chesterton Academy.

Father Neil Blatchford, spiritual adviser for Chesterton and associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge, led the blessing before the meal at the event. Also attending were Father Danny Herman, an associate pastor at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Father Jeff Baker of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. John Toliver emceed the gala.

Five Benedictine Daughters of Divine Will who live in Blount County attended the gala: Mother Gabrielle Marie, Sister Megan, Sister Jacinta, Sister Faustina, and Sister Christine, the latter of whom spoke on her experience as a Chesterton student.

Mr. Summers began the gala with his headmaster’s year in review.

“Every classical charter school in the country has a waitlist. Over 39 new classical schools launched this year, seven of which were Chesterton Academies,” he said. “Sixty-two Chesterton Academies are in operation internationally, with an additional 20 slated to open in the next two years. The future is classical, bequeathing an education that is the end, not just the means, that prepares our children not just for what they are going to be in the world but who.”

Mr. Summers told the “friends of Chesterton, fellow Crusaders, that I am here in humility and awe and gratitude to God for the gift the school has become. In just two years, Chesterton Academy has become known for its catholicity, forming souls fit for the kingdom of heaven, seeking the heart of God in every subject and expressing their love for him in every heart. It has pushed past the walls of its one-room schoolhouse in East Knoxville to a standalone building in West Knoxville, sitting on two acres of land that our students play freely on every day, including Wiffle ball Wednesdays.”

Chesterton graduated its first two students this year, the headmaster said. He referred to the school’s house system, based on the traditions of Oxford and Cambridge, and said Chesterton has had “80 Masses on-site, the addition of a math and science teacher, thus doubling our curriculum . . . the addition of a cross country team, our dance attendance doubling in number, nine committed visiting priests, weekly adoration and biweekly confession, a Fine Arts Night with choral performances, our first play last spring, the majority of our students placing with honors on the National Latin Exam, our school placing in the first percentile on the Classic Learning Test, one of the top 20 in the nation. It is clear that this saint-making model works. It’s making a difference not just in our students’ lives but in the community at large.”

Mr. Summers’ announcement about Bishop Beckman’s recognition of the school drew applause and cheers, as did a further mention that Chesterton faculty would take part in the diocesan schools’ in-service on Feb. 18.

“The tide is turning. Gazing at our school daily, I am still in awe of the ministry that was once a dream, students that were just prayers,” Mr. Summers said. “But the work is not over. This dream and these prayers must be preserved and protected. This academy is something worth waking up to every day. That is the Chesterton difference: something worth fighting for. I hope you will join us in that fight.”

Sister Christine, a graduate of the first Chesterton Academy when it was located in Edina, Minn. (it’s now in Hopkins, Minn.), took the microphone next.

“I am just so grateful for Chesterton. It’s really and truly where I found my vocation to be a religious Sister, to be a bride of Christ,” she said. “It’s kind of like a monastery, honestly, going to Chesterton, because you have Mass and you have adoration and you have confession. You have this time of fellowship to learn and to study and to grow in faith. I just know it’s changed my life in so many ways.

Sister Christine said she is still close to her Chesterton classmates, one of whom is in seminary.

“A lot of them are having babies right now and having beautiful Catholic families,” she said. “It’s just brought so much fruit, and I know right now it’s spreading like wildfire everywhere. People are so thirsty for this kind of education, this way of life, to bringing God in everything, and that’s what led me to the Divine Will, too, just seeing God in all the subjects and all the learning and in each person. It’s a beautiful school and a beautiful opportunity to support life and to support God and His goodness and His beauty. I’m so grateful for God for allowing Chesterton to bloom and grow.”

Sister Christine became a novice on her 25th birthday March 2 and received a new religious name, Sister Angela Marie of the Most Holy Trinity.

Alex Weber, chairman of the board at Chesterton and also a Holy Ghost parishioner, introduced the silent auction.

“I’m so grateful for all of you coming and sharing this mission and sharing this vision with us,” he said.

Mr. Weber told a story of a bricklayer who said he was building the wall for a cathedral.

“This is so much more than a silent auction. Thank you for every brick that’s been laid when you faculty members graded papers late at night, students when you worked on papers late at night,” he said. “Thank you for the moments of generosity: of chaperoning events or providing a silent auction. That is more than a brick; it’s more than a wall. What we’re building here today is the eternal city of God. I feel so honored and so privileged to be here.”

Mr. Weber mentioned a talk he had with Father Baker at the restaurant Soccer Taco.

“This dream started at Soccer Taco tables and headmaster living rooms and crowded coffee shops,” he said. “Where it is today is not where it began, and what it will be is not what we are today. We want a school that creates saints for God for generations to come. Think 100 years. Think 200 years. We want you to give generously tonight not to us but to our grandchildren and to our great-grandchildren. Help us build a cathedral to almighty God.”

Mr. Weber referred to Mr. Summers’ mention of Chesterton Academy of Knoxville’s storefront origins.

“We were so excited about that storefront . . . in the industrial part of East Tennessee,” Mr. Weber said. “When we drove up to it, it was glorious: ‘wow, we have a place to teach these students,’ and we even found a way to fit an altar in there and somehow taught four different grades in two different rooms. God bless you, all of you faculty. Where we are today is not that, but isn’t it great how God starts small? . . . On behalf of the faculty, on behalf of the board of the Knoxville Chesterton Academy, we want to say thank you. We want you to feel compelled by faith, hope, and love to give a lot of money tonight,” he said to laughter. “Join us in building this cathedral.”

The Chesterton choir, led by the school’s music teacher, Mary C. Weaver, performed at the gala. The group of eight sang Ave Regina caelorum, a Marian chant, and Non nobis Domine by William Byrd.

“Ave Regina caelorum is one of four Marian antiphons sung throughout the year during Compline, or night prayer,” Mrs. Weaver said. “This Marian hymn is sung from Feb. 3, the day after the feast of Candlemas, through Holy Week. It praises Mary, the Queen of Heaven, of whom was born Christ the light of the world.”

Non nobis Domine is “a short canon that comes from Psalm 115 and is translated ‘Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us but to thy name give the glory,’” Mrs. Weaver said. “It was the motto of the Knights Templar, so it seems appropriate for a Crusader choir.”

The auctions featured a painting, done “live” by Sonia Summers during the gala, of G.K. Chesterton that sold for $1,000. Two luxury-box tickets to the SEC men’s basketball tournament semifinals had a winning bid of $6,500. A 2017 Harley-Davidson Street 750 motorcycle, with only 500 miles on it, went for $2,900. The engine was revved on the motorcycle, parked outside the banquet hall, to signal the start of the live auction.

The raise-the-paddle event brought in funds for teacher salaries, campus security, and other school needs.

Felicity Weber, a sophomore at Chesterton, and freshman Danny Davis spoke to the gala audience about their experiences at the academy.

Curt Jawdy, vice chairman of the board for Chesterton, said the bishop’s announcement was “really big for us.”

“We’ve worked hard over the last couple of years to build trust and be trustworthy,” he said, adding a compliment to Bishop Beckman for “doing the research about us.”

“We’re excited to be a part of the diocese and a place that all Catholics in the diocese can trust their children,” he said.

Mr. Jawdy added that the gala will fund Chesterton for next school year.

“We always raise our funding ahead of the year in question. This is for starting in the fall, for next year. We’re fully funded for this year,” he said.

Chesterton is accepting students for this fall, Mr. Jawdy pointed out.

“We’re currently set to double next year, and in order for us to continue our growth, to continue our quality, we’d like to triple for next year,” he said. “If there are any students who are looking for an amazing education for a wonderful tuition—$8,600 is extremely affordable.”

Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret Clitherow is part of the Chesterton Schools Network. Based in Minneapolis, the network is an “apostolate of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton.”

G.K. Chesterton was an English writer and convert to the Catholic faith, and he was considered “one of the world’s most outstanding men of letters in the early 20th century,” according to the Chesterton Schools Network website, chestertonschoolsnetwork.org. He was chosen as the network’s patron “because he not only represents the fullness of faith and reason but also Catholic joy and common sense.”

For more information on Chesterton Academy of St. Margaret Clitherow, visit knoxchesterton.com or e-mail zach@knoxchesterton.com.

Mr. Jawdy said interested families can “schedule a shadow day, when you can bring your student in, and they can spend a day with our students at the school, get to learn what it’s like, and see if it’s a good fit for them.”