When Father David A. Reinhart took over as president of Cardinal Stritch High School from Fr. John Stites, Reinhart knew he had big shoes to fill.

Fr. Stites had served as the school’s leader for 22 years. He was leaving for a Sabbatical at the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio, and is now serving over two parishes in Putnam County.

Today, Fr. Reinhart is president of the Kateri Catholic School System, which includes Stritch, and pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Bono. He is stepping down to become a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force.

His replacement will be Fr. Eric P. Schild, who currently serves as pastor at St. Wendelin parish in Fostoria and is a faculty member at the high school. Fr. Schild’s assignment becomes effective July 1.

Fr. Reinhart and Fr. Schild have known each other for a long time, so they expect the transition to be smooth.

“He was finishing up in high school, and he was a freshman in college when I was a brand new priest in Norwalk (St. Paul),” Fr. Reinhart said. “He was real active in the church, so we knew each other. Then we were actually roommates in our graduate program at the University of Dayton, School of Administration. So our paths kind of continued to cross as it often does with friendship and people sometimes.”

Fr. Schild said, “I have the utmost respect for Father Dave. He has been a mentor to me since I was in college. I was just graduating high school and was going off to college, was thinking about priesthood and Father Dave was a great mentor and role model for me, and he put me in line and kind of whipped me into shape a little bit.”

One of the challenges Fr. Schild will face is the development of the recently formed Kateri System. When the system was developed, it meant closing grade schools and middle schools and consolidating them into one campus at the high school.

“I’m in complete awe at what the folks here have been able to accomplish with Kateri because to do this takes a lot of sacrifice and some painful decisions, but it’s obviously all for the good of the students,” Fr. Schild said. This wouldn’t have been done if the student’s best interest wasn’t taken into consideration.

“So, for people to have gone through this and for Father Dave to have led them and then to have followed is literally amazing to me. I think that shows the type of people that are in this area and how committed and dedicated they are. I am very grateful to enter into a role such as this one with this caliber of folks.

“Obviously, we are in the infancy stages of Kateri, so we need to continue to stabilize that and build on that. It’s such a great thing that they’ve been able to do, and that’s certainly a goal,” Fr. Schild added.

Despite the consolidation, the high school retained its name.

“When we developed this, there were all those options on the table and we decided to maintain the Stritch identity,” Fr. Reinhart said. “Half the students come from the other side of the river and so we needed to continue to have that kind of identity and that tradition and keep close to our alumni.

“At the end, I enjoyed the fact that people really got motivated around making a proactive change to Catholic education. We were really concerned we were going to lose major components, major chunks of it if we didn’t do something creative and something proactive. So people really did get around it and it really has been a positive thing. We’re seeing enrollment numbers for next year, and they look pretty strong, all things considered,” Fr. Reinhart continued.

Fr. Reinhart still keeps in touch with Fr. Stites, who is in Ottoville.

“He was and continues to be a person who’s had a great impact on Catholic education in this area. People still refer to him. He did a very good job and he has a very strong memory here,” Fr. Reinhart said.

Fr. Reinhart took over as president in 2004, serving six years.

“They were challenging but they were also exciting. They certainly flew by. I really enjoyed my ministry,” Fr. Reinhart said. “They’ve been good years. They’ve been fun. I like Friday nights. I like going to football games. I like being with the kids. I like keeping the mission of the school going, so I have enjoyed it.”

Under Fr. Reinhart’s direction, Cardinal Stritch was honored as one of the nation’s top 50 Catholic high schools three years. There are approximately 1,300 Catholic high schools in country.

“I think it’s been a good, positive shot in the arm,” Fr. Reinhart said. “I think people here worked hard. You know, I think people sometimes feel like because we are the smallest Catholic high school in the area that somehow we have to look to the others as the beacons. I think this has established us as the high school to take a look at.”

Fr. Schild graduated from Norwalk St. Paul High School in 1998. After that, Fr. Schild attended John Carroll University, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Communications. 

Fr. Schild then affiliated with the Diocese of Toledo as a seminarian and began studying at St. Meinrad Seminary in St. Meinrad, Indiana immediately following his graduation from John Carroll.  He graduated from St. Meinrad Seminary with a Master of Arts in Catholic Theology and a Master of Divinity.

While in seminary, Fr. Schild attended the University of Dayton where he earned a Master of Science degree in Catholic Educational Administration. Fr. Schild was ordained a Catholic priest on June 2, 2007 and his first assignment was at St. Wendelin.

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