0_Apprentice
Did you attend Catholic school as a child, I am considering putting my kids in one
1_Wizard
I did! From grade 1 to grade 8 - I liked that they participate in the evangelizing mission of the Church
0_Apprentice
Oh that is nice, did you do mass there?
1_Wizard
My school was right next to the church, so we had to go to mass every morning before classes - interestingly, the church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system
0_Apprentice
I never knew that, but it makes sense, I see tons of Catholic schools around, how many children attend them?
1_Wizard
I don't know how many attend them, but I do know that in 2016 there were at least 95,200 primary schools and 43,800 secondary schools supported by the church
0_Apprentice
That is a lot of schools, are they expensive to attend?
1_Wizard
The one I went to was free - also, the main contribution to the increases in Catholic communities around the world was due to Irish immigration
0_Apprentice
So lots of Irish people attend Catholic churches, I see, how long have they been around? I never knew they had any free ones
1_Wizard
I'm not sure how long they've been around, but I do know that Catholic schools in Europe struggled after the Church of England was created