Cardinal
dedicates St. John Neumann Place
Old school takes on new lives
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Outside Anna Mae Gilmore’s new
apartment at St. John Neumann Place in South Philadelphia,
there once stood the locker her grandson was issued when
he was a student at St. John Neumann High School for Boys.
“Like I’m in a suit of armor” is how safe
Gilmore, 87, feels in her new home. The independent living
facility for the elderly, at 2600 Moore St., is the former
St. John Neumann High, which closed four years ago when
the school consolidated with St. Maria Goretti High School
for Girls at the Goretti site, also in South Philadelphia.
“It’s beautiful,” said Gilmore, who belongs
to nearby St. Gabriel Parish. “I’m glad they
took me in. Everybody’s so nice here.”
She moved here in early April and won’t soon forget
her first night in her new home. “I slept like a log,”
Gilmore said. And when she woke up the next morning? “I
looked around and I thought, ‘It’s all mine.’”
On Monday, May 19, Cardinal Justin Rigali blessed and dedicated
the complex, which consists of 75 affordable apartments
for seniors aged 62 and older and is operated by Catholic
Health Care Services (CHS) of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
The Cardinal’s blessing and dedication began in the
complex’s chapel, which includes a statue of its namesake,
Philadelphia’s fourth bishop. A crucifix was placed
on each of the complex’s three floors by Cardinal
Rigali, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R. Cistone and Msgr. Daniel
J. Sullivan, vicar for Philadelphia-South.
“It is a day of great joy,” the Cardinal said,
adding that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is “so
delighted and so pleased with the results that we see before
us today. We thank God for these wonderful results. …
“The achievement is a beautiful achievement, an achievement
that required God’s grace and the wonderful collaboration
of so many people,” Cardinal Rigali continued. “Our
gratitude goes to all of them.”
At press time, 50 apartments were available for rent.
The $17 million conversion project marks the first time
CHCS has used Section 42 federal tax credits awarded by
the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for the adaptation
and reuse of vacant archdiocesan property.
PNC MultiFamily Capital and Beneficial Bank are equity partners
with the Archdiocese on the project. Additional funding
was provided by Catholic Health Care Services, the City
of Philadelphia and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.
Prudential Savings Bank in South Philadelphia has also agreed
to a contribution through the Neighborhood Assistance Program,
which is administered through the state’s Department
of Community and Economic Development.
Construction began in December 2006. Renovations included
the demolition of the school gymnasium, auditorium and priory.
The remaining classroom area was converted into 75 one-bedroom
apartments.
Gilmore also has a room with a sentimental view —
from her quarters, she can see the street where she lived
before her move. A lifelong resident of South Philadelphia,
she belonged to St. Aloysius Parish before it closed in
2003.
As she gave a tour of her apartment, Gilmore was giddy,
especially about her new appliances: “Every-thing’s
brand new. Everything’s electric,” she said
with a smile. She is particularly pleased with one appliance:
“Eighty-seven years old — and I finally got
a dishwasher.”
The community room on the ground floor is already a popular
place for residents to socialize, and Gilmore expects the
fun and games to increase as additional people move in.
She plans to play cards and hopes to dabble in ceramics.
“Whatever they dish out, I’ll try,” she
said.
A number of Norbertine priests — the order had staffed
St. John Neumann High — also attended the dedication.
Norbertine Father William J. Kelly, the vocation director
at Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, said three of the best years
of his life were 1997 to 2000, the years he spent teaching
theology at the school as a Norbertine brother.
In March, the McSorley brothers — James, 76, and Charles,
78 — became the complex’s first residents.
“It truly is an honor,” said James, who attended
St. John Neumann High during his freshman year. It was then
known as Southeast Catholic Boys’ High School.
Their new home “has all the creature comforts,”
McSorley said. “So far, it’s magnificent.”
McSorley is a crossword puzzle aficionado — he works
on seven puzzles a day — and a sports fan. For him,
the biggest attraction of his new home is being able to
watch student athletes play lacrosse and baseball on the
ball field adjacent to the property, which is still maintained
by SS. John Neumann and Maria Goretti Catholic High School.
“I’m happy to be here,” said McSorley,
a member of St. Gabriel Parish. “I attribute it to
John Neumann, himself. I wear a relic.
“This,” McSorley said of St. John Neumann Place,
“is a miracle.”
Delight,
many thanks at dedication
of apartment complex
“Ah — if these walls could talk.”
Just as a high school student’s life is transformed
in four years, so was the former St. John Neumann High School
for Boys that is now St. John Neumann Place, an independent
living facility for senior citizens operated by Catholic
Health Care Services (CHCS) of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
Msgr. Joseph A. Tracy, secretary for Catholic Human Services
— under which CHCS operates — made the
analogy in remarks at the blessing and dedication of the
new facility.
“Four years doesn’t seem like a very long time,
does it?” he said. “But think about four years
in a high school … a lot sure can happen. And that’s
certainly the case for this former high school.”
PNC MultiFamily Capital and Beneficial Bank are equity partners
with the Archdiocese for St. John Neumann Place.
Officials from both organizations spoke at the dedication.
Gerard Cuddy, president and CEO of Beneficial Bank, acknowledged
St. John Neumann, Philadelphia’s fourth bishop who,
155 years ago, founded Beneficial in Philadelphia to help
immigrants obtain banking services.
“If you are to walk into any of our offices, you’ll
probably see, every 10 or 12 feet, a portrait of St. John
Neumann,” Cuddy said, adding that the portraits are
reminders of the important work done by the bank, including
the transformation of the old school into apartments.
Among others who were acknowledged for helping make the
facility a reality were: the City of Philadelphia; Anna
C. Verna, president of the Philadelphia City Council, in
whose district the complex is located; Joseph J. Sweeney
Jr., deputy secretary for CHCS; John M. Wagner, director
of the archdiocesan Office for Community Development, and
Suzanne O’Grady Laurito, a project developer for CHCS.
St. John Neumann Place has a staff of three. Joseph Pinhak,
a member of Our Lady of Charity Parish in Brookhaven, is
social services coordinator. Lorraine Yarborough of St.
Charles Borromeo Parish in Philadelphia is the property
manager, and Juan Devero is its maintenance worker.
— CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine