701 Gaul Street
Philadelphia, PA 19125
Communiqué
March 25, 2006
Holy Name of Jesus Parish School to Close in June 2006
Reverend Francis R. Groarke, Pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia, announces that Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, has accepted the recommendation to close Holy Name of Jesus Parish Elementary School (East Berks and Gaul Streets) at the end of the 2005 – 2006 school year.
St. Laurentius Parish has graciously invited as many of the Holy Name students as they can accommodate to be a part of St. Laurentius school community. Any other students who cannot be accommodated at St. Laurentius School may choose to attend any area Catholic School of their choice. Holy Name of Jesus Parish will continue to offer Sacramental preparation for their students and parents since the Sacraments of Initiation will be celebrated at Holy Name. Holy Name Parish and the Office of Catholic Education will continue to work with Holy Name school families during this transition.
On December 1, 2005 a proposal was submitted to the three Parishes of Holy Name, St. Laurentius and St. Anne calling for the closure of St. Anne Elementary School and using the two Fishtown sites of Holy Name of Jesus School and St. Laurentius School for a newly formed regional school. That proposal was found unacceptable with the St. Anne’s Steering Committee members and St. Anne Parish Community.
In early January the three Pastors met with the Office of Catholic Education to discuss concerns raised about the proposal. Those concerns were legitimate and needed discussion. Issues raised included limited seating for all students from the three Parishes; lack of amenities at the Holy Name site; the use of a lottery for admittance to the regional school; the building layouts at St. Laurentius and Holy Name could not offer all that was expected in the regional school model. The three Pastors presented these concerns to the Parishes asking for input but protest resulted.
In late January the Archdiocese acknowledged that consensus could not be reached on the study and asked the Pastors to work with our Pastoral and Finance Councils to review facts pertaining to school enrollments, tuition, parish income, expenses, and the Parish’s ability to provide sufficient funds for the school to reopen in September 2006. In addition the Archdiocese offered to subsidize each Parish for one year through the IPCC (Interparochial Cooperation Commission) to allow the Parish time to determine its own fate through established guidelines.
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The Pastoral and Finance Councils of Holy Name of Jesus developed a school budget based on projected enrollment for 2006-2007, and determined that even with the Archdiocesan offer of subsidy, the tuition cost to Parish families would be beyond their reach. The developed budget was reviewed by the Office of Parish Financial Services of the Archdiocese and by an independent accounting firm to insure the correctness of the projections. When the proposed tuitions rates were made public in light of the proposed budget, most parishioners said that they could not afford the rates.
The Pastoral and Finance Councils met on February 23, 2006 to discuss and vote on a proposal to close Holy Name School and use St. Laurentius as the Fishtown Catholic School. The vote was unanimous with one member abstaining. A letter was drafted by Father Groarke to Cardinal Rigali detailing the Pastoral and Finance Committee’s recommendation. That recommendation was submitted to Cardinal Rigali for consideration and accepted.
The decision to close Holy Name School is a difficult one. Holy Name School has been an icon for Holy Name children for many generations. Father Groarke has offered praise and gratitude to the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and dedicated lay faculty who have served our Parish for so many years in education ministry.
Father Groarke said, “We are now given a great challenge and a wonderful opportunity to bring the Fishtown community even closer together by having one school to educate children from both Parishes. We must look to the future in the eyes of our children and make Catholic education in Fishtown affordable, enduring, and qualitative. Our children deserve the best for they are the future in our Church and in our community. Let us now work together to build a dream.”
For more information, please contact the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Office for Communications at 215-587-3747