Newest High School Named Pope John Paul the Great

YES!!! This is something that I have been pushing for a year and a half.

Newest High School Named Pope John Paul the Great
October 10, 2007 -
Newest Catholic High School for Arlington Diocese: Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde announced today that the Arlington Diocese’s newest Catholic high school – the diocese’s fourth and first in over two decades – will be named Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School. The 1,000-student school is currently under construction on the Cherry Hill Peninsula in Prince William County and is set to open in the fall of 2008; Ninety-percent of the high school school’s foundations have already been completed. Information and a live webcam of the construction site is available at www.jpthegreat.org.

Fruit of Unprecedented Catholic Growth, Generosity

School enrollment throughout the Arlington Diocese – which includes over 18,000 students at 44 Catholic schools in 21 counties in the northern tier of Virginia – has grown 25 percent in the past decade. In the same decade, the number of Catholics in the diocese has increased 40 percent to over 400,000. Funds for construction of the high school will come from bonds, ongoing payment of pledges to the diocese’s first-ever capital campaign—Rooted in Faith-Forward in Hope—and additional fundraising efforts.

Legacy to John Paul II and Ties to the Arlington Diocese

Bishop Loverde said, “The school will be a fitting legacy for our late, beloved Holy Father. This name has special import not only for me, but for so many in our diocese. Pope John Paul II educated us in so many ways: through his writings, his homilies, his prayerful devotions and his actions. Guided by this example, Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School will continue in the great tradition of the other three existing diocesan high schools in its education of the total person.” Bishop Loverde, whose was first appointed an auxiliary bishop by Pope John Paul II in 1988, cited the numerous ties clergy and lay-members of the diocese have to John Paul II—from the role he played in vocations to the priesthood to the inspiration he provided to generations of young Catholics.

Nashville Dominican Leadership

Sister Mary Jordan Hoover, O.P., a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia or “Nashville Dominicans,” was named the school’s first principal in May 2007. Nashville Dominican sisters also serve on staff at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School in Woodbridge. Sisters from the Nashville-based congregation teach at 29 schools in eleven states. The Dominican motto—“To contemplate and to give to others the fruits of our contemplation”—is lived out in a tradition which features a love of study and excellence in Catholic education.

“So many of us have John Paul II memories – we can each smile as we think of him with youth – and of course his steadfast, diligent attention to the importance of life. Traits like these will help guide the school as we develop an identity and the curriculum,” said Sister Mary Jordan.

First-Ever Comprehensive Bioethics Curriculum

Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School will feature a unique and comprehensive bioethics curriculum which integrates the subject into courses on science, history, religion, and the entire curriculum. One of the school colors—green, representing life—reflects this emphasis; the remaining colors—black and white—represent the school’s Dominican leadership and emphasis.

“Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School will have a unique bioethics curriculum. No one has spoken more eloquently and consistently than John Paul II on the dignity and worth of the human person from conception to natural death. Armed with the tools to lead in a society confronting so many bioethical questions, the alumni of Pope John Paul the Great High School will be equipped to become the builders of the society of freedom and peace to which Pope John Paul II called them,” said Bishop Loverde.

Upcoming Open Houses

Area Catholic parishes and schools will host Sister Mary Jordan for high school open houses this fall, including:

· November 3: St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School and Our Lady of Angels Parish, Woodbridge, 1-3 p.m.

· November 17: St. Francis School, Triangle, 1-3 p.m.

Since August, Sister Mary Jordan has traveled to area parishes to promote the new school; she will speak about the school at Masses at Holy Family Church in Dale City on the weekend of Oct. 27-28. A complete listing of Sister Mary Jordan’s upcoming visits is available online at www.jpthegreat.org

Pope Paul VI High School in Fairfax, Va., was the last high school established by the diocese, in 1983; the other diocesan high schools, in Arlington and Alexandria, are named after former Diocese of Richmond Bishops Denis J. O’Connell and Peter L. Ireton.

The Diocese of Arlington is among the fastest-growing dioceses in the nation; in the past decade, the diocese has seen 40 percent increase in registered Catholics, to over 400,000. The diocese has opened seven elementary schools in the past decade. The Diocese of Arlington covers 21 counties and 7 cities in the northern tier of Virginia. Further information is available at www.arlingtondiocese.org

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This comes on the heels of my successful grassroots effort to designate VA Route 234 in PWC as “Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Highway” that was championed in the General Assembly by Del. Scott Lingamfelter.

Eastern Prince William Co. is becoming a monument to the greats of the 1980s.

UPDATE:  The Potomac News has full coverage of this.