New principal

Stacy Stewart will begin work July 1 as the next principal of St. Dominic High School in O’Fallon. Stewart was a high school biology teacher and department chair in the Fort Zumwalt School District for seven years before becoming assistant principal at Fort Zumwalt West High School in 2002. She holds master’s and specialist degrees in educational administration from Lindenwood University. A 1989 graduate of St. Dominic High School, Stewart will be the school’s first alumni principal. Her St. Dominic legacy extends across generations, including her parents (both 1961 graduates of St. Dominic’s predecessor, Assumption High School) and siblings (including five St. Dominic graduates from 1985 to 1996). Stewart will succeed longtime St. Dominic administrator Cathy Fetter who is serving as interim principal for the 2018-19 school year. Stewart and her husband, Tim, are the parents of two children: Madeline, a senior at St. Dominic, and Gavin, an eighth-grader at Assumption School. The family now lives in O’Fallon and belongs to Assumption Parish. They previously lived in Troy, where they were longtime members of Sacred Heart Parish.

Funderwear game

Cor Jesu Academy and St. Joseph’s Academy collected a year’s worth of new socks and underwear for St. Patrick Center clients — 20,333 pairs, far surpassing last year’s total of about 17,000. The 15th annual Funderwear Challenge was part of a basketball game at Cor Jesu Jan. 8. Both school communities began collecting items Dec. 4. St. Joseph’s won the basketball game, 52-33, and halftime tug-of-war. Cor Jesu won the Funderwear Challenge, its 10th in a row.

New housing

With funding secured through St. Louis City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis has announced it will move forward with plans to build five new homes near Saint Louis University in 2019. The build is the first major project in which Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis and SLU have joined forces to create affordable home-ownership opportunities for homebuyers. The plan calls for two-story, fully accessible homes with brick façades to complement the existing streetscapes. The $1.1 million investment will transform long-vacant land in the Gate District West neighborhood just adjacent to the university’s Medical Campus into for-sale affordable single-family housing. St. Louis Midtown Development Corporation, created in partnership with SLU and SSM Health, is playing a lead role in spearheading redevelopment in this area.

Top coach

St. John Vianney High School baseball coach Scott Brown has been named the 2017-18 National Federation of State High School Coaches Association National Coach of the Year. Brown, a 1984 Vianney graduate, led the Griffins to a 37-2 record and Missouri Class 5 championship last season. He also became Vianney’s winningest baseball coach last season and surpassed the 500-win mark for his career. Brown was nominated for the honor by the Missouri State High School Activities Association. Brown’s teams at Vianney have gone 223-62, have won at least 23 games each season and have claimed five Metro Catholic Conference championships and four state final four appearances.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Christian elements of great literature

The Daughters of St. Paul are continuing their monthly literary discussions on the last Monday of each month, 7 p.m. at Pauline Books and Media, 9804 Watson Road in Crestwood. Ken Colston will lead discussions on the following works: Jan. 28 — “The Death of Ivan Illyich” by Leo Tolstoy; Feb. 25 — “The Four Loves” by C.S. Lewis; and March 25 — “Everything that Rises Must Converge” & “Revelation” by Flannery O’Connor. Admission is free; for information call (314) 965-3512.

Catholic perspective on end-of-life

Presented by the Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern Missouri, seminars of The Conversation: A Catholic Perspective on End-of-Life Issues will resume Saturday, Feb. 9, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at St. Pius X High School in Festus. Father Peter Fonseca will discuss the principles of Catholic bioethics, a topic of interest for Catholics making healthcare plans for themselves or caring for ill or aging loved ones. The free seminar also will include presentations on Catholic funeral and cemetery planning, estate planning, advance directives and charitable gift planning. To register, visit rcfstl.org/the-conversation.

Our Lady of Lourdes Feast Day

La Salle Retreat Center in Glencoe will celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes on Monday, Feb. 11 (the actual feast day). Guests will pray the Rosary near the beautiful Lourdes Grotto at 11:30 am. Prayer medals and votive candles will be available. Afterwards, soup and sandwiches will be served in the large dining room. The women of St. Alban Roe are providing dessert. The retreat center is at 2101 Rue De LaSalle Drive, along Hwy. 109 about 3.5 miles north of Interstate 44 in Eureka. To RSVP, call (636) 938-5374.

Challenges of Islam

The Notre Dame Club of St. Louis and Saint Louis Priory School present the 2018 Hesburgh Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 8, in the Kevin Kline Theatre at St. Louis Priory School, 500 S. Mason Road in Creve Coeur. Gabriel S. Reynolds of the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame will discuss “Islam, the Catholic Church, and the Future of the World.” In this lecture, Reynolds will examine how Islam challenges Christian beliefs, reflect on how the Catholic Church has responded to these challenges through the centuries and propose ways in which the Church might face the newest challenges of Muslim-Christian relations, including the rise of ISIS and global jihadism. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted. A reception will follow in the lobby.