Latin 'anything but dead' in Catholic schools in Wilmington Diocese

WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- For a supposedly dead language, Latin is alive and well at some Catholic schools in the Wilmington Diocese. Although it was abandoned by most public schools in the past 40 years or so, many students and teachers say that studying Latin has many benefits.

"I like that it's an ancient language that has a lot to do with the culture," said Thomas Bounds, a sophomore at Salesianum School in Wilmington. Bounds, who takes Latin II, said his Latin class, with 13 students, is smaller than most of his classes, which gives it a more personal atmosphere. He also said the language has helped him with vocabulary, English grammar and his SAT scores.

At Ursuline Academy, also in Wilmington, Latin is mandatory for sixth-graders. In the seventh and eighth grades, students can choose Latin, French or Spanish. "This year Latin was the most highly sought-after choice," said Robin Chambers, Ursuline's curriculum director. Ursuline has added a year of Latin study each fall since introducing the course three years ago.

From Catholic News Briefs

It's an encouraging sign to see this. The Romance languages are based on the Latin. The 5 major Romance languages are: French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish.

It's so amazing that in our haste to jettison anything having any proximity to the pre-Vatican II era, we discarded and lost so much. I fear it will take many years to recover from this. As we can see from this story (and I'm certain that there are many others), our Catholic heritage is so rich and so beneficial. These schools, teachers, and students should be congratulated for the work they are doing.