From Catholic schools to Congress

Here's a good reason to be proud of Catholic education during Catholic school’s week: Almost 10 percent of our Senators and Representatives in the 111th Congress went to Jesuit colleges, Catholic News Services [1] reports.

There are 52 total Jesuit school alums, including 11 in the Senate and 41 in the House. And they are leaders in Congress, too: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-MD.; House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH; and Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin, D-IL.

Of particular Jesuit note, new Representative Joseph Gao (R-LA) was actually a Jesuit seminarian before deciding to go into politics, and Senator Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA) taught for a year through Jesuit Volunteer Corps. after graduating from the College of Holy Cross.