HARRISBURG, Pa. – Bishop Ronald Gainer, in conjunction with Rev. Daniel F. X. Powell, is pleased to announce that Saint John Neumann Catholic School will open for this coming school year (2020/21). Plans to build the school have been years in the making. A pre-K through eighth grade school, Saint John Neumann Catholic School will open its doors this August. As part of the proposal first submitted to Bishop Gainer to build the school, Saint John Neumann School will replace Saint Anne Catholic School, which closed at the end of the current school year (2019/20).
“The opening of Saint John Neumann Catholic School, which from the beginning was to replace Saint Anne Catholic School, has been a long time in the making. I am very pleased to see this project nearing completion and to know that Saint John Neumann Catholic School will be open for the upcoming academic year,” said Bishop Gainer. “This school will offer the same excellent spiritual and academic formation our St. Anne, St. John Neumann and all Catholic school parents have come to expect.”
“As the Executive Pastor of Saint Anne School and the Pastor of Saint John Neumann Parish, it is with great joy and excitement that we prepare to welcome the Saint Anne School Community to our parish campus as we establish Saint John Neumann School,” said Fr. Daniel F. X. Powell. “The 96 year Saint Anne School tradition will be the foundation upon which we will write the next chapter of our school’s history. Saint Anne School is closing, then simply moving to Saint John Neumann and reopening with a new name but the same history. While our name and location will change, our history and tradition continue.”
“In the 96-years of its Catholic Education mission, Saint Anne School has educated and shared the Catholic faith to thousands of students,” said Fr. Tri M. Luong, pastor of Saint Anne Parish, adding the relocation of the school to Saint John Neumann Parish is a positive step. “It has been more than a decade that Saint Anne’s School has been entrusted to the leadership of an Executive Pastor from that parish (Saint John Neumann). Therefore, it is our joy to congratulate him and Saint John Neumann Parish on this special occasion of new beginnings in caring for and sharing our faith to generations to come.”
“We welcome all our current Saint Anne School families and are grateful for your devotion and support. The school will continue to offer a sound Catholic Education for all those who are seeking a faith based environment for their children,” said Fr. Powell. “We look forward to welcoming new families into our school from the Manheim Township community and other communities in the area. We encourage Catholic and non-Catholic families who are looking for a new and different option for their children to contact us. The process to get to this point has been a long and fruitful one filled with many graces and blessings. The support of our Saint Anne School family, Saint Anne Parish family, and Saint John Neumann Parish family has been incredible. We anticipate many wonderful years to come and invite you to join us as we move forward in faith.”
Saint Anne Catholic School, located at Saint Anne Parish in downtown Lancaster, has been a joint ministry of Saint Anne and Saint John Neumann parishes. The pastors of both parishes first approached Bishop Gainer several years ago with a proposal to transition the school from Saint Anne Parish to Saint John Neumann Parish. Parents currently attending Saint Anne School have been kept well informed of the pending change and many families have already committed to transfer to Saint John Neumann School.
Due to construction delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Saint John Neumann Catholic School classes will temporarily be held in the Saint Anne School building. It is anticipated construction on Saint John Neumann’s School facility will be finished in the early fall, allowing faculty, staff, students and administration to move into the new facility in September.
As a legal entity independent of the Diocese of Harrisburg, funding for construction of Saint John Neumann Catholic School was provided through the very generous support of parishioners, parents, and community supporters.
The schools in the Diocese of Harrisburg enroll nearly 10,000 students and they continue to be recognized for their rigorous academic education while providing moral and faith formation according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. To learn more about Catholic education in the Diocese of Harrisburg, visit www.GoCatholicSchools.org.
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. Plans to build the school have been years in the making. A pre-K through eighth grade school, Saint John Neumann Catholic School will open its doors this August.){kind=link}