Francis Crotty, founder of Kolbe Academy and NAPCIS, hospitalized.

Please pray for Fran Crotty who is currently hospitalized with a serious illness complicated by a stroke. Please pray for Margie, his wife, as well as his extended family, that they find peace and comfort in their love of God and their love for one another.

Fran is the visionary behind Kolbe Academy and the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools (NAPCIS). As Donohue (2014) writes in Private Independent Catholic Schools: Components of successful start-up schools, “It was Francis Crotty, of Kolbe Academy in Napa, California, who stepped forward and could certainly hold the title as the visionary for this movement (Cubanski, 2007). With five independent Catholic schools already in operation in the 1970s, Crotty and his wife founded Kolbe Academy in 1980, and then directed the formation of the NAPCIS with three other independent Catholic schools in 1995” (p. 18). She states, “Crotty had the vision, the passion, and the creativity to take a calculated risk when he opened Kolbe Academy…” (p.18).

We are all very grateful to Fran and Margie for taking that risk and paving the way for other schools to open as private, independent entities. Providing faithful Catholic education, based on the “salvation of souls and academic excellence” (Margie Crotty) has led well over 100 individuals to request membership in NAPCIS since its founding.

We will keep you posted as to his medical status.