Many blessings and congratulations to Didier Aur, Principal, St. Ann Catholic School, for being selected by the Catholic Extension Society as one of the eight finalists for the 2025-2026 Lumen Christi Award. It’s the Society’s highest honor given to those who radiate and reveal the light of Christ present in the communities they serve.
After overcoming challenges with dyslexia as a child, Didier Aur has gone on to have a 37-year career as a leader in Catholic education. He is currently the Principal at St. Ann’s Catholic School in Bartlett, Tenn. Seven years ago, the school faced closure. But since Didier took over, enrollment has doubled.
What’s more, in 2022 he started the Erika Center at St. Ann Catholic School, which educates 20 students with dyslexia each year. This fall, he plans to expand this operation to double the center’s enrollment.
Didier has led multiple schools across the Diocese of Memphis in his nearly 40 years working in Catholic education. And at each stop, he has helped children reach new milestones in their education. He did so by taking a missionary approach that does not turn people away but rather goes out and finds more ways to help.
Didier has certainly put this into place now at St. Ann’s, especially in his efforts in providing resources to assist even more children with dyslexia.
‘When you get a child who gets a piece of paper and they can’t read, and by the time they go through the dyslexia center they can’t wait to read—it’s incredible,” Didier said. “Their self-esteem goes from no self-esteem to where ‘I’m loving this,’ and those students come to school with a smile on their face; that’s the neatest thing.