Students spread holiday spirit at annual SFIC Christmas Breakfast (Photos)

Like the three Magi, a group of students from Saint Michael’s School in Newark, NJ, approached Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., bearing gifts. The drawings, paintings, and handcrafted objects they presented to the Archbishop of Newark were not only made with great care and affection, but also carried symbolic value, just like the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh that were brought to the manger in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.

One student presented the cardinal with a colorful design featuring four hearts, one of which represented the Earth.

“I created this picture to say: ‘Let all you do be done with love,’” she told him. “Merry Christmas!”

Faith, hope, and a brighter future

The yuletide spirit was evident during the annual Christmas Breakfast, sponsored by the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children (SFIC). Cardinal Tobin and students from Saint Michael’s were joined by SFIC donors, staff, and clergy, along with other representatives of the Archdiocese of Newark, for a morning that featured holiday music, homemade gifts, and heartfelt stories of how SFIC’s efforts had improved the lives of students and their families.

During the 2025-26 school year, SFIC provided tuition assistance to 1,000 Catholic school students in the archdiocese. Approximately 64,000 scholarships have been distributed since the fund started in 1983.

“Education is the most powerful tool we can use to break the cycle of poverty,” said Dr. Michelle Hartman, Chief Executive Officer of SFIC. “By offering scholarships to those in need, we open doors to faith, hope, and a brighter future for our children in the schools of the Archdiocese of Newark.”

During the breakfast celebration, students sang and danced to gospel hymns and holiday favorites like “We Need a Little Christmas” and “Shine Your Light,” before presenting Cardinal Tobin with the presents they had made for him.

Their gifts included a hand-crafted Christmas tree made of tiny stars, and a painting by one of the fifth-grade classes, an expression of the students’ “faith, hope, and devotion” to Jesus.

Cardinal Tobin was also given a book of favorite jokes put together by the school’s fourth graders. “This will equip me for all my homilies in the next year,” he said with a smile.

Looking up to see gifts from Jesus

Thanking the students, Cardinal Tobin said that it was appropriate that Christmas was celebrated during “the darkest time of the year.”

“What do we do?” he asked. “We turn on the lights. We light candles. We sing about a star and people who followed that star — the three wise men from the East.” Cardinal Tobin acknowledged that many people in the community are experiencing darkness and fear that can “make us feel nervous about the future,” but he also invited people “to look up and see the gift that Jesus brings us.”

“That grace is called many things,” the cardinal said. “It’s called eternal life; it’s also called light.”

Recalling his youth in Detroit, he said that during the summers, his family would go to a farm in Canada. “As kids, we loved going to Canada because we didn’t have to come inside when the streetlights came on – because there weren’t any streetlights!” After playing all day, he and his brothers and sisters “would lay on our backs and look up at the stars,” which were “bright, like liquid fire coming down out of the sky.”

After leading the audience in a round of applause for “the stars who were just up here on the stage,” he also paid tribute to the mothers and fathers “who love their kids and sacrifice for them” to make it possible for their children to attend Catholic schools, together with all those who support them, including the staff and supporters of SFIC.

“We also have friends in Heaven – the ones who started this scholarship fund 40 years ago,” Cardinal Tobin said. “All these stars work together, both in Heaven and on Earth, to make it possible for you to learn about Jesus and the wonderful light He brings, not just 2,000 years ago, but in 2025.”

“I’m very grateful for all you stars,” the cardinal concluded, “because by your light, which reflects the light of Christ, together we can walk.”

A life-changing mission

During the Christmas Breakfast, student ambassadors shared personal stories about the positive impact that Catholic schooling and SFIC support have made on their education.

Megan, an eighth grader at Saint Michael’s, told attendees that the opportunity to attend a Catholic school had “changed my life” and that Saint Michael’s had become “a second home to me.”

Other students explained to Jersey Catholic how the school’s math programs had prepared them to excel in high school and how the school’s environment fostered an atmosphere of acceptance and confidence. Yeleiny, a sixth grader, said that she loved how “hands-on” her education had become since she started attending Saint Michael’s with help from SFIC. “At my other school, which wasn’t Catholic, I was on the computer all the time. After a month here at Saint Michael’s, my handwriting improved, and I even learned cursive,” she said.

Marilyn Gomez, principal of St. Michael’s School, said that the students have been excitedly preparing for SFIC’s Christmas Breakfast for weeks.

“Most families here at St. Michael’s would not be able to attend a Catholic school without help. SFIC has been a true blessing for our school, as I’m sure it has for many schools of the archdiocese,” she said.

To learn more or contribute, visit the SFIC website.

To view more images of the SFIC Christmas Breakfast, click HERE.

Featured image: Students from Saint Michael’s School in Newark, NJ, perform at the annual SFIC Christmas Breakfast. (Photos by SFIC / Neil van Niekerk)