Thank you for visiting our website. As you navigate the pages within, I trust you will find them informative and valuable, regardless of whether you are a first-time visitor or a long-standing parent. More than anything, I hope our website conveys what matters most at the Prince of Peace Catholic Schools.
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Welcome to the Prince of Peace Catholic Schools website. I hope you find it informative and easy to navigate. As an alumnus of Pope John XXIII Elementary School and Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School, they are both dear to my heart. As central ministries of Prince of Peace Catholic Church, we believe our schools offer an excellent education and a moral and spiritual formation. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Please also check out our parish website.
Peace and God’s Blessing,
Father Chris Craig, Pastor ’83
Prince of Peace Catholic Church and Schools
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Our Mission
Prince of Peace Catholic Schools, centered in Christ, is a welcoming place to grow in mind, body and faith while serving the people of God.
School History
Catholic schools in Madison, Indiana extend back to a Sunday in mid-July 1837 when Fr. Michael Edgar Shawe became Madison’s first resident Catholic priest and founded St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church. Father Shawe, the first Priest ordained in Indiana, had arrived to minister to Madison’s growing population of Irish Catholics; many of whom were believed to be brought to Madison for the building of the first railroad in Indiana, the Madison-Indianapolis Railroad.
Father Shawe remained in Madison two short years before accepting a teaching position at a new Catholic University in the frontier settlement town of South Bend, Indiana. Father Shawe taught at the University of Notre Dame du Lac until his untimely death in 1853.
In 1952, the Catholic parishes of Jefferson County announced the beginning of a campaign for the new Catholic High School in Madison. Driven by the efforts of Father Hilary Meny. St. Mary’s and St. Michael Elementary schools. Parishioners came together again a few years later in an effort to combine the two elementary schools in to one, Pope John XXIII Elementary.
Founded in 1954, Shawe Memorial is a co-educational Catholic school for grades 7-12 and is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. It is through the students, parents, faculty, and administration that Shawe Memorial continues the tradition of excellence in Catholic education. Shawe Memorial offers a quality, college-preparatory education for over 175 students in Madison and surrounding communities.
Catholic education has been a part of the Madison/Jefferson County community since the early 1800s and has been an important education option for the ongoing educational and economic development of the Madison area. Pope John XXIII Elementary offers a strong traditional education, while emphasizing the Catholic faith. Pope John XXIII was dedicated in 1966 and serves grades PreK- 6th with a very active preschool program.
The 20-acre school campus encompasses St. Patrick’s Chapel, Pope John XXIII Elementary & Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School, an office building housing administrative offices and the Parish pastoral staff, the playground, athletic fields including a baseball/softball complex, tennis courts and soccer field, and an outdoor environmental laboratory. Shawe Memorial and Pope John XXIII are the only primary/secondary (PreK-12) school combination in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis supported by one parish.
Academic Hallmarks
Prince of Peace Parish
We the people of Prince of Peace are dedicated to the worship of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the service and salvation of all God’s people…
Friends of Shawe and Pope John
Friends is dedicated to helping to ensure the future of Catholic education in Jefferson County.