Lourdes' rich history revisited

(Editor's note: The following information was provided by Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School)

Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School, located in the Edgewood section of Coal Township, had its beginnings as far back as 1892, when St. Edward High School was opened in the convent building on Webster Street in Shamokin. Lay teachers conducted a two-year secondary course in a one-room school for 25 students. Thus, it is the oldest secondary school in continuous existence in the diocese.

Lourdes Regional is also the oldest four-year high school and the first such high school in the diocese to receive state approval. During the pastorate of Monsignor Maurice M. Hassett, classes began in the four-year program in September 1921, with approximately 100 students enrolled under the Sisters of Charity from Mount Saint Vincent-on-the-Hudson. The pastors of St. Edward directed the high school until 1953 when the first priest-principal, Father Daniel J. Mahoney, was named. The sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, assumed charge of the school in 1935.

Students from the other eight parishes were welcome at St. Edward High School. Soon the school was an inter-parochial high school. In recognition of this status, the name was changed to Shamokin Central Catholic High School in 1955.

In 1956, Father Thomas A. Leitch was named principal, and a program of internal expansion began with the broadening of the course of studies and the addition of lay teachers. Also, the following were added to the school's teaching staff: the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor with headquarters in Buffalo, New York; Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, West Chester, Pennsylvania; the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph, Hamburg, New York; the Religious Sisters of Mercy, Dallas, Pennsylvania, and the Felician Sisters of St. Francis, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. Enrollment had expanded to 425 students.

The facilities in the "old" building had become inadequate. In 1956, the pastors of the nine parishes in the Shamokin Deanery led a successful drive for funds to build a new school. A 222-acre site was purchased in Edgewood Park on May 31, 1957, and ground was broken for the new school by Bishop George L. Leech on January 26, 1958.

In February 1958, heavy equipment began to clear the land. In August of 1958, the steel superstructure began to take form. The culmination of more than three years of effort came on Sept. 13, 1959, when the new educational complex was dedicated in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes. A highlight of the dedication ceremonies came when Bishop Leech inserted the corner stone which had within it a waterproof copper box containing coins, a Holy Bible, a list of benefactors, copies of local newspapers reporting the event, and a document signed by each of the pastors of the Shamokin Deanery.

There were, at the time, 432 students with a faculty consisting of two priests, 10 nuns and six lay teachers. Lourdes was the first high school in the diocese to have a chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, provided from the will of the late Right Rev. Msgr. Peter S. Huegel. The chapel was named in honor of St. Bernadette.

In 1964, there was further expansion when Lourdes became a regional high school, serving the Shamokin and Mount Carmel deaneries. A declining population, spiraling costs, and a desire to assure quality education on the Catholic secondary level prompted the pastors of the area to approve a merger of the Catholic High School of Mount Carmel with Our Lady of Lourdes High School, thereby designating the name of the school as Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School.

The roots of the Catholic High School of Mount Carmel go back to the Rev. James O'Reilly, pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, who transformed the F.O.R.L.&B. Society Hall into a schoolhouse and staffed it with five Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on Sept. 24, 1892.

The first system of high school training began in 1900, when students were taught in the convent. The first commencement was held in the Mount Carmel Opera House on June 10, 1902. The class of 1902 consisted of three members: Stella Whalen, Mary Daley and Mary Snyder. Catholic High offered a two-year course of study until 1932.

On Sept. 5, 1933, a new four-year high school opened, equipped with well-furnished classrooms, a large library, and fully equipped laboratories. The school was accredited in 1934. Catholic High School produced 20 priests, 35 nuns, a U.S. Congressman, James Quigley, and a Pennsylvania state legislator, Joseph Bradley.

During the 1964-65 academic years, freshmen and sophomores from Mount Carmel were transported to Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School, while juniors and seniors continued their studies at the Mount Carmel Annex. Father Francis P. Filippelli was named principal. He shared administrative duties with Father Clair A. Redding, assistant principal, and Father Lawrence R. Overbaugh, principal of the Mount Carmel Annex.

A new wing was added, providing a new cafeteria, classrooms, a physics laboratory, a guidance suite, a new biology lab, a business suite, and a chaplain's office. A new religious order was added to the faculty in 1966: the Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Danville, Pennsylvania.

Father Thomas R. Haney was appointed principal in 1967. Father Bernard P. McGinley was appointed as the first full-time chaplain. It was during Father Haney's term of office that flexible modular scheduling had its inception. In 1971, Father Robert E. Lawrence replaced Father McGinley as the school chaplain.

Father James R. O'Brien became the new principal of the high school on Jan. 21, 1976. In September 1976, Father Philip DeChico joined the staff as an assistant to Father O'Brien.

Father DeChico assumed the duties of principal in June 1978. He remained principal of Lourdes Regional until June 1986. In the spring of 1986, the Diocese of Harrisburg announced the opening of the position of principal, as Father DeChico was assigned to Lebanon Catholic High School.

Father John Pallard, O.M.I., was named principal at the beginning of the 1986 school year and remained at Lourdes until the summer of 1990.

In July 1990, Sister Rita O'Leary, I.H.M., who previously held the position of dean of studies, accepted the position of principal.

As a result of the consolidation process in 1995, the number of parishes in the area was reduced. Lourdes Regional currently serves students from eight supporting parishes and four non-supporting parishes and is staffed by professional educators. The Board of Education, composed of the pastors of supporting parishes and lay members, directs the policies of the school.

In July 2002, Sister Rita was transferred and business manager Lee E. Korbich assumed the position of administrator pro-tem.

In July 2003, the Harrisburg Diocese made an announcement that John A. McKay, former vice principal, disciplinarian and attendance director, would assume the position of principal.

In 2006-2007, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School became a regional K-12 school and was renamed Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School. Queen of Peace Grade School was incorporated into the high school building that year and Holy Spirit School in Mount Carmel became a part of the Lourdes' building in the 2007-2008 school year.

Lourdes Regional endeavors to motivate students to desire academic achievement and to experience success according to their natural abilities. Its offerings are geared to college and vocational preparation as well as the business world. Approximately 90 percent of Lourdes graduates pursue higher learning, while other students go directly into the business field. Those trained at the area vocational-technical school are assured a position and/or further training. Through these programs, the school strives to encourage the "emergence of intellectual/moral leaders."

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