I crashed a reception tonight...

I am on my way to visit my family in Olympia, Washington. As a creature of ridiculous habit, I stopped today in Pendleton, Oregon and tomorrow will venture down the Columbia River Gorge – a trip that always restores and reinvigorates my Pacific Northwest roots. By chance there was a reception tonight in the Pendleton hotel at which I frequently stay and I briefly crashed the reception!

The reception was for the students of St. Joseph’s Academy, a Catholic school in Pendleton. It was an older crowd as the school finally closed its doors almost 40 years ago in 1974. There is a typical and yet remarkable history. In 1882, five Sisters of Mercy travelled from both Kentucky and San Francisco to launch the school. After three years, the Sisters of Mercy abandoned the project, but at the urging of the Archbishop, six Sisters of St. Francis from Philadelphia took on the school and it reopened in September of 1887.

Early accounts of the school’s history speak of the extreme poverty endured by the sisters, having finally met with greater success in 1896 and beyond. The school buildings were very impressive. Sr. Stanislaus, the first of the sisters to arrive is remembered as being heroic in her early work on behalf of the school. During the Depression, the sisters fed over a hundred men each day in addition to their regular duties at the school and tried to find odd jobs around the school for the many unemployed – the community was very grateful for the presence of the sisters and their ministry at the academy.

A terrible fire destroyed most of the buildings in 1956, and although they rebuilt the school buildings, the high school was closed in 1962. Finally, in June of 1974 the elementary school succumbed and the Academy was closed forever. One commentator writes, “…Education in Pendleton has never been the same.” There is very little historical information available about this school that served this community for almost 88 years. It is almost forgotten. It strikes me as the administrator of a newer Catholic school: what is it that ensures the longevity and success of a Catholic school in our communities today? What is the particular mission of a Catholic school as we face the present challenges? The statistics are not very positive…

The former Superintendent of Schools, Patricia O’Neill for the Archdiocese of Washington DC said in an address in 2010 that Catholic education is in a state of "mission confusion" as the number of schools shrinks along with the student population - "We are in very, very serious trouble…” Catholic schools have closed at the rate of better than 100 a year over the past 50 years, with 5,645 fewer Catholic schools operating now than in 1960, according to figures from the National Catholic Educational Association. The NCEA released results that there was a 3.3% decrease in enrollment across the nation for the 2010 school year.

Sobering thoughts on the evening where about 75 alumni gathered to remember the work of just such a closed school. You could palpably sense the pride and joy these alumni had in this gathering to remember the institution that had served them so well. What needs to be done to ensure the ongoing vitality of Catholic schools such as The Madeleine Choir School?