A Golden Celebration at The John Carroll School

– Archbishop John Carroll, namesake of our school

First Bishop and Archbishop of Baltimore (Serving 1789-1815)

 

The opening of a new school year is always filled with lots of activity. This September has been particularly exciting as we began the celebration of our 50th Anniversary Year at John Carroll. The doors to our school first opened on September 9, 1964 and we marked the start of our Golden Jubilee this year on that date.

In 1783, our school’s namesake and soon-to-be first Bishop of these United States, John Carroll, exhorted Catholics and all people of good will to “Go into the New.”

Almost 180 years later, then-Archbishop of Baltimore Cardinal Lawrence Shehan and Catholics of our area went “Into the New” yet again as this first Catholic high school in Harford County opened its doors in 1964.

The first class of freshmen entered the newly-finished classrooms while being surrounded by mounds of bricks and mortar that would be used to finish the rest of our building and the surrounding campus. These young members of the first graduating Class of 1968 laid the foundation for John Carroll students for the years to come: A legacy of hard work, academic achievement, involvement in sports and clubs, a rich faith life, and strong bonds with family and friends.

Our students are blessed to stand on the shoulders of that Class of 1964 and those who followed as part of the ever-growing John Carroll family. Many of our current students and faculty are products of past-generations of this John Carroll legacy.

It is hard to describe the joy that I felt all day on Monday the 9th. Being a graduate of the school, and having served here on the faculty and as Campus Minister for the past 33 years means that almost four decades of my life have been spent on the John Carroll campus. The institution, the mission, the history, and the myriads of people have done much to shape and form who I am today. Catholic education is a vocation near and dear to my heart and there is much to celebrate here at John Carroll this year.

To kick off our celebration of the 50th Anniversary Year we had a Mass of the Holy Spirit, followed by a festive luncheon, and the blessing of the former convent as our new international dorm. We invited dozens and dozens of special guests who served over the year as Board members, faculty and administration, benefactors, and special friends.

We welcomed back our first principal Dr. Raymond Wanner (principal from 1964-1968) and his wife Linda. Along with the late Rev. Charles K. Riepe (1964 faculty and second principal starting in 1968, who entered Eternal Life in 2009) and today’s homilist Rev. Alphonse Rose (who served at nearby St. Margaret Church from 1964 to 1976), Dr. Wanner made a reality of the vision of excellence in Catholic secondary education held by Cardinal Lawrence Shehan (the 12th Archbishop of Baltimore) and our early local Church leaders. John Carroll was and still is the only Catholic high school in Harford County.

At our Mass of the Holy Spirit, longtime Religion teacher Rev. Stephen R. Sutton was principal celebrant with Bishop William C. Newman presiding, joined by local clergy and dear friends of our school:

·      Very Rev. G. Gregory Gay, John Carroll Class of 1971, Superior-General of the Congregation of the Mission, the worldwide Order of Saint Vincent, headquartered in Rome;

·      Current Board member Msgr. G. Michael Schleupner, pastor of Saint Margaret Church;

·      Rev. Alphonse G. Rose, Homilist, original Religion Department faculty;

·      Rev. Gerard Francik, pastor of Saint Mark Church, Fallston,

·      Rev. C. Douglas Kenney, associate pastor of Saint Margaret Church, Bel Air;

·      Rev. Msgr. William F. Burke, pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Baltimore;

·      Deacon Victor Petrosino of Saint Margaret Church and father of Greg Petrosino, Class of 1987; 

·      Seminarian Josh Laws of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, former Religion teacher.

The Sisters of Saint Joseph who joined us to celebrate were the special honorees of the day. These women and their predecessors served at our school for almost 45 years in leadership, teaching, and staff positions since our opening in 1964. Their former convent was blessed as our new international dorm and renamed Saint Joseph Hall that afternoon in honor of the service of these dear Sisters over the decades. It was delightful for us to visit with these religious women who served as our colleagues, friends, and spiritual mentors. Any school that has lost the affiliation of a religious community due to decreasing numbers and waning vocations over the years knows that it is a deep loss to the entire community and its future generations. Those of us who have worked with the SSJs know that there is no replacement for their wisdom and generous contributions to our school and our Catholic mission. These good Sisters are deeply missed.

The year ahead will be filled with other special events where we will celebrate our 50th Anniversary. Read about future programs and activities here.

 

Our student photographer was able to capture seven of our beloved clergy before Mass: Seminarian Josh Laws, Deacon Petrosino, Father Rose, Bishop Newman, Father Gay, Msgr. Burke, and Father Sutton.

 

The special pre-processional included dozens of good friends from over the years who served us as Board members, faculty, administrators, and benefactors. (Photo by Lifetouch)

Three generations of the Mullin Family took part in our liturgical procession: Bernard P. Mullin who served as faculty member and Guidance Chair from 1969 until his retirement in 2012, joined by his son Joseph Mullin and grandchildren Rebecca Williams ‘15 and Samuel Hartsoe ‘17.

Rev. Alphonse G. Rose who served at nearby Saint Margaret Church from 1964-1976 gave the homily and shared the visions of our early school leaders that John Carroll would be a school of challenging academics and extracurriculars, as well as a powerhouse of faith. (Photo by Lifetouch)

Patriot Pride: Four generations of the Carpenter Family brought up the offertory gifts: Mrs. Helen Carpenter with great-granddaughter Hope Kelly ‘14, followed by Hope’s father Brian Kelly ‘96, and aunt Ellen Kelly ‘99, followed by Hope’s grandfather David Kelly ‘72 and great-aunt Susan Carpenter Kraft ‘74 of our Math Department. (Photo by Lifetouch)

The Eucharistic Prayer. (Photo by Lifetouch)

Official 50th Anniversary school photo. (Photo by Lifetouch)

International student Gavin Ding ‘16 of Shanghai, China enjoyed chatting with Father Rose and Bishop Newman later that afternoon. (Photo by Patti Murphy Dohn)

Our First Students: Four members of the Class of 1968 gathered around the yearbook photo-collages in the office hallway: Lois Dieter Townsend, Kathy Crocken Barnes of the Guidance Department, Charlene Muth Wallbillick, and Kathleen Morley Grapski join with Father Rose and Bishop Newman. (Photo by Patti Murphy Dohn)

The blessing of the former convent as Saint Joseph Hall, our new international dorm. (Photo by Patti Murphy Dohn)

Sisters of Saint Joseph were our special honored guests. From left: President Richard O’Hara, Sister Gerry Kent, SSJ, Sister Marie Gregory, SSJ, Sister Ellen Kelly, SSJ, Sister Bernard Howe, SSJ, Principal Madelyn Ball, Sister Judith Ridley, SSJ, Sister Jeanne Barnard, SSJ, and Sister Patricia Mensing, SSJ. (Photo by Patti Murphy Dohn)

 

Old Friends: Spanish teacher Jane Michael, with Dr. and Mrs. Raymond Wanner, and Campus Minister Patti Murphy Dohn after a memorable day celebrating the start of the 50th Anniversary Year at John Carroll!!

Blessing of our School by Bishop Newman 

Maybe some of these students will be present for our 75th and 100th Anniversaries as faculty members and parents.