Print Issue: November 21, 2002

St. Mary's School Celebrates Historic Occasion As New School Building Is Dedicated

By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

ROME - Driving up to this northwest Georgia city, the fall scenery features changing leaves in hues of orange, brown and gold. Rising above the trees, the steeple of St. Mary's Church is one of the first things that greets the visitors. Like the beautiful landscape, both the church and school have become familiar landmarks of this community. But the school building was approaching its 43rd birthday, and it was showing its age - and bursting at the seams, with 322 students in eight classrooms and trailers on the property.

Members of the community prepare to gather for the Oct. 29 blessing and dedication of the new St. Mary's School building. The $4.1 million project added 20 classrooms, administrative space, a new kitchen, cafeteria and stage, music room and chapel. With the additional 36,000 square feet, the school can accommodate an increasing enrollment that now stands at 320 students. (Photos by Michael Alexander)

When Angela Ritchie interviewed for her job as principal of St. Mary's School, it was hard to imagine the beautiful building that she would work in just two years later.

"I interviewed in the old building and there was duct tape on the carpet," she said. "They told me about this new building they were planning and it was a stretch of the imagination (to envision), but it's happened."

On a rainy night, Oct. 29, Archbishop John F. Donoghue celebrated a Mass and blessed the brand new St. Mary's School building.

Steeped in history, St. Mary's School was opened in 1945 with 51 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The original school was housed in the Lumpkin House, a building constructed by Gov. H. Lumpkin and used as a hospital for Union soldiers during Sherman's march to the sea. In 1960, the school began serving only pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and a new building was constructed on East Seventh Street. It wasn't until 1980, when a building housing a gymnasium and media center, as well as two additional classrooms and storage, was constructed.

The recent $4.1 million construction and renovation project was the largest in the school's history, basically adding a whole new school to the existing gymnasium and media center building. The new school now has 20 classrooms.

During the renovation, faculty and students were forced to compete with the sounds of hammers, drills and bulldozers as the construction of the new school happened around them. The new building was built just eight feet out from the old.

"We tried really hard to incorporate construction themes into the teaching," Ritchie said.

As the archbishop celebrated Mass, any hardships endured during the building phase were all but forgotten.

The Mass was concelebrated by Father James Miceli, pastor of St. Mary's Church, and other priests of the archdiocese. Celebrated in the school's gymnasium, underneath the basketball hoops, and surrounded by decorative fall artwork, the St. Mary's school students sat quietly among their parents, in awe of their visitor.

In his homily, the archbishop praised the commitment of the St. Mary's community.

"The journey was not without difficulty - the ebb and flow of human affairs reaches into the heart of its institutions, and this school, like this society, has known better and worse times," he said. "But again, those who have cared for the school, and embraced it within the family of St. Mary's Church, believed and acted upon those words of St. Paul - 'there is no foundation but the Lord Jesus Christ.'"

He said that though the school has changed the spirit is the same.

"You are what you have been, that is true, and when you look out, you see always with the eyes of faith - a hundred years of living Catholicism in Rome, Georgia, proves it to be so," he said. "But how wonderful it is, how pleasing to see, with those eyes of faith, the beautiful changes you have brought about in this school - and how beautiful to see, the light in the eyes of your children, as they now will fill this school, with their laughter, with their learning and with the faith you are giving them."

Following his homily, the archbishop walked through the school, sprinkling water to bless it. Students and their teachers stood by their classrooms, beaming with pride in their new school.

Father James Miceli, pastor of St. Mary's Church, Rome, and Deacon Philippe Russell accompany Archbishop John F. Donoghue as he blesses the new and old sections of St. Mary's School.

Father Miceli called the school an "integral part" of the parish community.

"We're very proud of the school's 57 years of service," he said. "Now, with the new facility, it's like a dream. Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves to make sure we're really here."

Patrice Rivet has had two children attend St. Mary's School since they were in pre-kindergarten. Her eldest will graduate this year and she has a son in the fifth grade.

The New Orleans native said that she felt Catholic school was the best path for her children.

"At St. Mary's they receive an education that is so much more than academics," she said. "It's spiritual and personal character development that reinforces what we're doing at home."

At St. Mary's, Rivet said, they've developed a family with the other parents and children that is based on Christ.

"Everyone has the same goal - to raise moral, well-rounded children who have strong moral beliefs," she said.

Rivet's daughter, Caitlin, said she has enjoyed her years at St. Mary's.

"It's really easy to get along with friends here," she said. "It's easier to fit in and to be accepted. It's also really easy to learn because you get one-on-one attention from the teachers."

Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders of the St. Mary's School chorus sing the processional hymn, "God is Love," during the dedication Mass. The choir was under the direction of music teacher Cecelia Dawson.

St. Mary's school population has recently grown in diversity, thanks to recruiting efforts by the school's principal.

Prior to the beginning of the school year, a special open house was held for the Hispanic population of Rome. Ritchie, who speaks fluent Spanish, said she is very pleased with the success of the recruiting, which brought in 36 Hispanic students.

"It is about reaching out," she said. "I believe that every child who wants to go to Catholic school should have that opportunity."

And now all students at St. Mary's have the opportunity to learn in the school's handsome new building.

"There was always the wonderful tradition of Catholicism and academic excellence came with it, but it's always nice to have that in a beautiful space," Ritchie said.