Our Story

Who We Are

In 2008, Tom Bengtson and Dale Ahlquist co-founded the first Chesterton Academy in St. Louis Park, a small suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each had young families and were seeking an alternative to the existing high school options available to them. The two men had a simple mission: to offer a classical, integrated high school education that was faithful to the Catholic Church and affordable for families of average means. Looking to G.K. Chesterton as the model for a complete thinker and modern defender of the faith, they named the school Chesterton Academy. Inspired by Pope Saint John Paul II, they took as their motto

Cultura Vitae, the culture of life.

In 2013, in response to mounting requests from around the world, the Chesterton Schools Network was formally established to help other groups start schools in their area, drawing on the Chesterton Academy curriculum and approach.

The Apostolate

The Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton is a Catholic lay apostolate, recognized formally as a canonical private association of the Christian faithful. Our mission is to evangelize through education, inspiring people to live joyful, holy lives, with G.K. Chesterton as a model of lay spirituality. To help carry out its mission, the Society sponsors the work of the Chesterton Schools Network and adult education through its annual conferences, publications, and the support of local Chesterton Societies.

Our Model of Education

Inspired by Saint Pope John Paul II, we take as our motto Cultura Vitae, the culture of life. We make it our mission to prepare our students to triumph over the materialism and despair that pervade our culture and to accept our Lord's offer to have life and have it abundantly. Our classical curriculum combines a broad liberal arts education with a strong emphasis on the cultivation of Christian virtues and an appreciation of beauty.

Curriculum

The Three Pillars

Intellect

Character

Spirirtuality

We teach the classics of Western thought from physics to philosophy, and the interrelationship of the great ideas; teaching students not merely what to think but how to think.

We help students grow in the four cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice, which we believe are the foundation of leadership.

Our students come to understand and embrace the truth of why they exist: to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world and be happy with Him forever in the next.