Mass,
tour mark 100 years at Our Lady of Lourdes School
By
Hannah Dougherty Campbell
Special to the CS&T
To the glorious strains of “Hail! Great Queen of Heaven,”
more than 500 alumni of Our Lady of Lourdes School in Overbrook Farms
joined in a Mass in celebration of the school’s centennial on Sunday,
April 27.
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph McFadden and Msgr. Francis Meehan, along with
Fathers Joseph Meehan, Richard S. Rasch, O.de M., provincial vicar of
the Mercedarian Friars, and James W. Mayer, O.de M., pastor of Our Lady
of Lourdes Parish, concelebrated the Mass before the standing-room-only
congregation.
Following the Mass, alumni and friends walked over to the old and new
school buildings at 63rd and Lancaster Avenues for tours. Each classroom
held memorabilia from the school’s establishment in1908, including
many May procession and first Communion photos lining chalkboard ledges
and windowsills.
Cards and drawings welcoming guests back to the school, decorated by current
OLL students, adorned each desk, while eighth-graders and members of the
student council assisted visitors around the school.
Also on display was an original school desk, restored by Mike Dougherty,
class of 1966 . In refinishing the desk, Dougherty found a label from
American Seating, which is still in business. The company provided him
with the desk’s model number and its price in 1911: $1.75.
Included in the event’s program book were various excerpts from
news media in 1908 covering the school’s opening. The Philadelphia
Inquirer reported that while the hymn “Come Holy Spirit” was
sung, the new school was blessed by Archbishop Patrick John Ryan.
In its opening day coverage, The Catholic Standard & Times
quoted Father Phillip P. McDevitt, then superintendent of parochial schools,
who said: “No other building besides the church, serves a nobler
purpose than does the school, for in the school the mind and soul of the
child are trained and developed along the lines of perfect citizenship
in this world and the world to come. The most important adjunct to a church
is its school. Unless we train our children in the principles of religion,
it will be impossible for this or any congregation to endure.”
After the tour, a catered lunch was held under a tent in the schoolyard
as alumni, former teachers and neighbors shared memories.
A gala dinner and Mass will be held Nov. 29, and the closing celebration
of the anniversary year will be held in June 2009.
Go to www.oll-alumni.com for more information.
Hannah Dougherty Campbell is a freelance writer and the OLL centennial
co-chair.