September 29, 2025 // Diocese

School Spirit: Bishop Luers

Todays Catholic

Your Schools, Your Stories
This academic year, Today’s Catholic is partnering with the student media programs at all four Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Each week, student writers, editors, and photographers from Bishop Luers and Bishop Dwenger in Fort Wayne, Saint Joseph in South Bend, and Marian in Mishawaka will share their work on this new page, School Spirit, dedicated to telling the stories of their school communities.

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Art Programs Help Knights Find Their Way Forward

By Lyla Kelty

Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne is proudly represented for its sports and academics throughout Indiana for its incredible achievements. While these accomplishments are certainly noteworthy, there is more to Bishop Luers than athletics and academics.

One particular gem of the school community is its expansive art program. From the blaring band performing under Friday night lights, to the art décor that lines the hallways, student-produced art is everywhere at Luers. Art is such an important aspect of life at Luers, and the school’s talented students and staff do a wonderful job of capturing it throughout our community.  

The band is a critical unit of Bishop Luers. Our small but mighty band performs at sports games, in concerts, for our incredible show choir, and for all the musicals. The amount of effort they put in to highlight other people and make their nights enjoyable is truly impressive. In speaking with band members, each agreed that the bond these performers have formed is like a family. Through traveling together, field trips at feeder schools, and playing at sports games, they have connected and continue to look out for one another. Members agreed that Bishop Luers provides many opportunities for them to grow as musicians and experience different band environments. This helps our band to excel and grow outside of Luers. We are grateful for all they do.  

Bishop Luers also offers seven detailed art courses that engage students with their artistic talents. In classes, students are working on ink stamps, sculptures, self-portraits, oil pastels, large paintings, and much more. With the help of their teachers, the art students at Luers use many resources to cover a large range of different art types and enjoy expressing themselves.  

Lastly, Bishop Luers’ theater department is a top-notch program that consistently produces incredible shows. Students and staff have created productions such as “High School Musical,” “Newsies,” “Grease,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” but that is not where their talents end. Theater is a popular program at Bishop Luers because it is a tight-knit group that creates a fun and safe environment.

The theatre department helps students grow by giving students several opportunities. They produce three shows each year, and each show has a different plot line and atmosphere. This helps the students explore diverse ideas and themes. The leadership and direction of multiple faculty members also encourage actors and actresses to be the best they can be. Luers encourages every student to partake in one production because of the lively and contagious atmosphere.

Bishop Luers is the first high school in Indiana to perform the musical “Orphan Train,” which will be performed on Saturday, October 4, and Sunday, October 5. Students say it has been a hard process because there is little reference material; however, they are excited to share their hard work. Orphan Train follows the story of orphans from New York City. Minister Charles Brace plans to send the orphans to new families in Iowa. The musical follows a journey of several orphans who voyage west in hopes of a new life. It creates an atmosphere of new beginnings and promised futures.  

Art has been offered at Bishop Luers since its beginning. It is important for teenagers to be able to express themselves in creative and individual ways, and art does just that. From a psychological standpoint, young people are currently looking for ways to shape themselves. The staff at Bishop Luers encourages people not to fit into a mold other people have made for you. Rather, construct your own mold, through hardship, through joy, through laughter, through pain. That is the best thing about art! No one thing looks the same. Everyone has their own artistic license and looks at art differently. There is such beauty in diverse cultures. At Bishop Luers, we encourage you to share your own opinion, to step out of your comfort zone, and be authentically yourself. We are encouraged to make mistakes and learn from them.  

Our community is small and close-knit, but there are many working parts that make us whole. Bishop Luers prides itself on creating a safe environment where every student can express themselves equally and enjoy their own individuality. High school should not be about conformity and following the crowd but rather learning how to be your true self.

This year, in the pages of Today’s Catholic, Bishop Luers student media will be highlighting the individual and working parts that create the whole community of Luers. We plan to capture all the different, powerful groups at Luers – from sports to academics and faith life.  

Lyla Kelty is a senior at Bishop Luers High School.