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.
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