A ‘LOVE THAT’S STILL THERE’

Fifteen Catholic schools awarded grants from the Father Kenneth J. Doyle Catholic Education Fund

Principal Alexandra Morazan of St. Mary’s School in Waterford (back l.) and some of her students join Bishop Mark O’Connell, Mary Ellen Doyle Sochor and Deacon Andy Grebe for a picture during the Father Kenneth J. Doyle Catholic Education Fund awards ceremony on Sept. 30 at St. Mary’s, Crescent in Waterford. (Cindy Schultz photo for The Evangelist) (Courtesy photo of CINDY SCHULTZ)

On Sept. 30, Catholic school teachers, leaders and administrators gathered for the second grant presentation of the Father Kenneth J. Doyle Catholic Education Fund at St. Mary’s, Crescent in Waterford. 

The first presentation, which was held in March of this year, distributed grant checks to three Catholic schools. For the second presentation more than four times as many schools applied and 15 schools were awarded grants totaling a whopping $30,000.

Bishop Mark O’Connell — who was installed as the Bishop of Albany in December 2025 and attended the first grant presentation — opened his morning welcome to attendees, saying that in his first year serving in Albany, Father Doyle’s name was “one I heard often.”

“Last year it was just a name — he was obviously a good man, well known — but now I feel, although I never met him, that I know his legacy, and his legacy is so strong,” Bishop Mark said. 

Grants in Father Doyle’s name were awarded to 11 diocesan schools — Blessed Sacrament School in Albany, Catholic Central School in Latham, St. Clement’s Catholic School in Saratoga, Holy Spirit School in East Greenbush, St. Jude the Apostle School in Wynantskill, St. Madeleine Sophie School in Schenectady, St. Mary’s Academy in Glens Falls, St. Mary’s Catholic School in Waterford, Mater Christi School in Albany, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady and Saratoga Central Catholic in Saratoga — as well as Christian Brothers Academy in Albany, Academy of the Holy Names in Albany, La Salle Institute in Troy, and St. Gregory’s in Loudonville. 

Catholic schools could use the funds for a number of different needs, such as financial aid for families, curriculum and instruction updates, teacher training programs, or other additions that honor Father Doyle’s legacy. 

“We are very hopeful that the funds … support or help the school, or are directed to the students,” said Deacon Andy Grebe, Parish Life Coordinator at St. Mary’s, who spoke at the presentation. “We were amazed with the amount of money raised.”

Father Doyle, who died in October 2022, was a renowned member of the diocesan faith community. He served as Rome bureau chief of Catholic News Service, where he traveled with Pope Saint John Paul II, was an information officer of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C., a lobbyist for the New York State Catholic Conference in Albany, a longtime editor of The Evangelist, and a cherished pastor at the Parish of Mater Christi. 

His fund was established in 2025 as a tribute to his work and to help carry on his legacy in Catholic schools. 

“It amazes me the amount of support and love that’s still there,” said Mary Ellen Doyle Sochor, Father Doyle’s sister.

Sochor was especially happy to hear that Saratoga Central Catholic School, which received a $2,000 grant from the Father Doyle Catholic Education Fund in March, was putting the money toward starting a publishing class for students. 

“I just love that,” she said. “It was his field. It's a great thing to have people remember him.”