Cristo Rey to Open in Our Lady of Hope

If you're like me, the recent announcement that Cristo Rey plans to open a high school in the old Our Lady of Hope school resulted in something of a cross between twitchy rage and a complete foaming-at-the-mouth meltdown.

The article, in case you missed it, courtesy the good soldiers at the Catholic Standard & Times. (Thanks to Ken Houser and the others who forwarded it.)

Cristo Rey high school to open in 2012

Cristo Rey, in case you forget, are the admirable folks who specialize in Catholic high school education for urban and disadvantaged youths. Given that they tried to take over Northeast Catholic and were ridiculously rebuffed (as I wrote about here), you can see how this announcement rendered me apoplectic.

To wit:

“The Cristo Rey model has proven successful in 24 locations across the country,” said Mary Rochford, archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools. “We welcome the Cristo Rey Network to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and believe this model will prove most successful for certain students.”

Oh really? Then why were you so determined to keep them out of Northeast Catholic?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see Our Lady of Hope get some attention, and the announcement gives me the first real hope (pun intended) I've had that the parish isn't going anywhere. I'd feel much better if the AD actually spent some coin to fix the place, but hey, one step at a time.

The bigger question is why the AD fought so vigorously to keep Cristo Rey out of Northeast Catholic, thereby saving their most iconic high school, only to welcome them here a couple of years later. I just don't get it. And if the Logan area is in such desperate need of Catholic secondary education, why did you close nearby Cardinal Dougherty?

The only logical explanation is that, again, the AD doesn't really care about anyone or anything but their own agenda and their own ego. That's the only way to explain why they closed two legendary high schools and refused Cristo Rey's explicit offer to save one of them, only to turn around and install the model at a completely new site a few years later. No other explanation makes sense.

I continue to hope for the best, but when it's clear there's no one competent at the wheel, you tend to have low expectations.

Greetings from Minneapolis

One of the problems with doing a site like this--if you can call it a problem--is that I tend to be distracted by church architecture wherever I go.

Case in point: I just got back from a business trip to Minneapolis, where, on the way to a fancy networking party, I found myself waylaid by this beauty:


Ummm, yeah.

That's St. Mary's Basilica, the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The sign in front proclaims it to be the country's first basilica. Not sure how true that is, but damn, I have to give Minnesotans some props. This place is darn impressive.


I wouldn't hurry up and put Minneapolis up there in the pantheon of great cities of religious architecture, but this works very well in their favor. I couldn't help but compare it to our basilica, Philadelphia's own Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul, and the comparison does not go very well for the latter.

The exterior certainly is more impressive, at least. Its stately granite far outpaces the Basilica's dull brownstone, and the dome and the sculpture work in and around the face are light-years ahead. For good measure, it even adds twin spires.

Inside, it's a much more open design than our basilica, with the side aisles minimized and the focus on the nave. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with the interior, but the brilliant stained glass and grandiose baldachin outpace the basilica easily. Also, crazy design feature note, the organ pipes are behind the altar, in the apse. Weird, but it works.

Beautiful all around, and if you ever have a chance to visit I recommend it highly. As for the Archdiocese, hey, don't worry buddy. Your basilica is still pretty in its own right. :)

St. Helena--Olney

You wanted it, you got it.

St. Helena--Olney