New addition dedicated at St. Edward School
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published August 24, 2007
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Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic
With her feet on the floor, Principal Helen Casper talks with some St. Edward School students standing on the new bleachers in the gym (from left) Delaney Southers, 7, and brothersDominic Angleli, 7, Giovanni Angeli, 9, and Sauzio Angeli, 10. |
Lakeport — The opening of a new addition to one Blue Water area Catholic school and the relocation of another are "significant steps in solidifying Catholic education in this area for years to come," Auxiliary Bishop Earl Boyea said last Sunday.
In his homily at Mass prior to the blessing of the new Fr. Hogan Center at St. Edward School in Lakeport, Bishop Boyea also referred to the relocation of McCormick Catholic Academy to the newly expanded St. Mary Academy building in Port Huron.
In October, McCormick Academy, a middle school (grades 6-8), will leave its leased space at St. Stephen Parish in Port Huron, and move to the site of St. Mary Academy, a primary school (through grade 5), to which four new classrooms have been added.
The two schools will merge to form St. Mary/McCormick Academy, and the middle school will also use the gymnasium at Fr. Hogan Center for athletic activities.
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Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic
New 10,000-square-foot Fr. Hogan Center at St. Edward School | Finishing touches are still being put to the Fr. Hogan Center, a $2 million, 10,000-square-foot gymnasium, locker room and lunch facility built onto the existing St. Edward School, which offers pre-school and primary grades (K-5).
The addition is named for the parish's founding pastor, Fr. John R. Hogan, who died in the mid-1990s. "Fr. Hogan was a very important figure in the Catholic Church in this area. He also founded Catholic Social Services of St. Clair County," said Fr. Joseph Esper, pastor of St. Edward on the Lake Parish.
Fr. Esper said the new addition is a modern expression of a long-standing tradition: "Our ancestors, our grandparents and parents all made great cacrifices to build parishes and schools, and this is an effort to build on their legacy and serve God in this community."
Blue Water Catholic schools
McCormick Catholic Academy was founded in 1992 to serve as the middle school (grades 6-8) for three Port Huron-area elementary schools – St. Edward in Lakeport, St. Mary in Port Huron and the now-closed St. Joseph School in Port Huron — which thereafter only offered instruction through grade 5. In October, McCormick Academy will move to the St. Mary site and merge with it to become St. Mary/McCormick Academy. St. Edward has a current enrollment of 97, St. Mary/McCormick Academy has 180. | Roger Schaller, a major donor to the Fr. Hogan Center and chair of the building committee, said the new building "is a response to the commission given us by Jesus Christ to go and teach all nations."
"We have got to teach our youth and help them get into heaven. We have to fulfill the mission he gave to His disciples, which we are now privileged to be," he added.
Schaller was also the donor of a new bronze statue of St. Philomena, which stands inside the entrance to the Fr. Hogan Center.
St. Edward's principal, Helen Casper, said, "We've doubled our size. It's a huge addition, and it's a leap of faith on the part of the parish to have built it. We've never had our own gym before, and I hope it helps stimulate enrollment."
McCormick Academy Principal Deborah Krueger said the new facility "means we have a brand new home court that's really state-of-the-art, and the students are really excited to be here."
Servite Sr. Mary Gehringer, archdiocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools, hailed the sacrifices made by Et. Edward parishioners, and the parish-to-parish and school-to-school cooperation that led to the relocation of McCormick Academy.
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Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic
Auxiliary Bishop Earl Boyea sprinkles holy water as part of the blessing and dedication ceremony for the new Fr. Hogan Center in Lakeport. | "The people in the Port Huron area have worked together for years to provide quality Catholic education for their children," she added.
The ceremony was attended by several hundred parishioners and school children; Sr. Gehringer; and several local priests – Fr. Simeon Iber, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Port Huron; Fr. Brian Cokonougher, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, Port Huron; Fr. Paul Czarnota, pastor of the clustered parishes of Sacred Heart, Yale, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Emmett, and Sacred Heart, Brown City; Fr. Tom Esper, a former St. Edward pastor; and Fr. Paul Higdon, chaplain at Mercy Hospital, Port Huron.
St. Edward Elementary School is at 6995 Lakeshore Road, Lakeport. For more information call (810) 385-4461 or on the Internet, www.stedwardonthelake.com.
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