Roman Catholic High School

Roman Catholic High School for Boys
Location
Philadelphia , Pennsylvania United States
Information
Type	Private
Motto	Fides et Scientia (Faith and Knowledge)
Established	1890
President	Rev. Joseph W. Bongard
Principal	Mr. Robert O'Neill
Grades	9-12
Color(s)	Purple and Gold
Mascot	The Cahillite
Alma Mater	"The Purple and Gold"
Website	http://www.romancatholichs.com/

The Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia opened in 1890 as an all-male high school located at the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

History

Roman Catholic, or simply Roman, as it is often called, was founded by Thomas E. Cahill, a nineteenth century Philadelphia merchant. Cahill saw the need to create a school that offered a free Catholic education for boys- past their grammar school years. He died before he saw his vision come to life; however, the wishes that he laid out in his will were followed. As such, Roman Catholic opened its doors in 1890 and offered a free education to boys. Roman is the oldest free Diocesan Catholic high school in North America. Despite Cahill's dream, due to increased costs of staff and facilities, free admission to the school ended in the 1960's.

As of 2006 the tuition for all Archdiocesan high schools in Philadelphia was approximately $4,200 per year.

Crisis of the 1980s

Roman was not always as successful as it is today. In 1985, the Archdiocese slated the school for closing due to lowering enrollment. However, Roman's alumni association, with the blessing of then Archbishop of Philadelphia John Cardinal Krol, embarked on a campaign to save the school.

Roman's Alumni Association, which had existed for over 70 years, came together to raise funds and increase enrollment. The rector of the school even applied to have the building itself kept as a historic landmark, which was accepted. The significance of the historic landmark designation means the building on the corner of Broad and Vine Streets can never legally be torn down. Also, its exterior must always stay the same - though it does not have to remain a school.

The 'New' Roman

Before 1986, students who attended Roman were from "feeder parishes"; Roman served as the school for the boys from the Center City, Chinatown, East Falls, Fairmount, Manayunk, North Philadelphia, and Roxborough regions of Philadelphia.

Today, however, Roman has boys from almost every Philadelphia neighborhood, including The Near and Far Northeast, West Philadelphia, Fishtown, Port Richmond, South Philly, New Jersey,Fox Chase, and the outlying suburbs.

Roman Catholic is built to hold around 750 to 800 students. However, because of high demand, it is above capacity and holds closer to 900. To select its students, Roman holds an entrance test every October and November. Of the 600 or 700 students that apply, only about 300 to 350 will be accepted. Students who do well on these tests also may receive scholarships ranging from a few hundred dollars to as much as $4000 a year. Usually, about 40 students receive scholarships.

Roman, like other high schools, has a tracking system: that is, first track (also called honors track), second track, and third track. Roman, however, is unique in that it tracks its honors class into three classes. While students in the honors classes learn the same material at the same pace, it creates a better learning system to have students of the same level together. A downside to such a tracking is that students find themselves among the same 35 boys in every single class.

Today, Roman seeks to further expand its campus. In the fall of 2006, the 13th St. Annex was opened, dedicated to alumnus James McSherry. The annex holds a new weight room, the alumni office, an all purpose room for wrestling, and classrooms for Senior and Junior Theology and English, in addition to Sports Medicine class. Plans are still in the works for extending the main building down Vine Street to 13th Street.

The Class of 2005 sent nine students to the nearby Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania, an impressive number for a Catholic School. One of Roman's noteworthy feats is sending two students to military academies in back to back years. A class of 2004 student briefly attended West Point before going to the University of Pennsylvania, and a student in the class of 2005 currently attends the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Also, the class of 2004 sent two of the nation's top rowers to Princeton University. And the class of 2006 produced one student who went to Yale University as well as one who went to a four-year international university in London, England. Outside the top tier of students, most graduates tend to stay local for college. Many alumni can be found at nearby St. Joseph's University, Villanova University, Drexel University, Temple University and LaSalle University, where nearly a dozen faculty at Roman studied.

The Building

The school, built on the northeast corner of Broad and Vine Streets, is an imposing figure of gothic architecture. The main superstructure is of white marble raised on a foundation of granite. Its white marble tower, 150 feet high, was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1959. In 1953, the three story building received an additional wing two stories high, which now houses the physics and biology labs, and the cafeteria.

Rectors of Catholic High

• Msgr. Nevin F. Fisher (1890 - 1902)
• Msgr. Hugh T. Henry (1902 - 1919)
• Msgr. William P. McNally (1919 - 1933)
• Rev. Leo D. Burns (1933 - 1938)
• Rev. John A. Cartin (1938 - 1952)
• Msgr. James T. Dolan (1952 - 1966)
• Msgr. Charles V. Gallen (1966 - 1975)
• Rev. Edward Cahill (1975 - 1981)
• Rev. Richard J. McLoughlin (1981 - 1990)
• Msgr. Francis W. Beach (1990 - 1997)
• Rev. Paul C. Brandt (1997 - 2006)
• Rev. Joseph W. Bongard (2006 - Present)

School Song

The Purple and Gold
(Short Version)

When Day mounts the East,
What flag does he hold?
He flings out his banner
Of Purple and Gold!
And when at the eve,
He sinks to his rest,
With Purple and Gold
Still aflame is the West!

Then stand by the flag
The young and the old!
Its colors are yours –
The Purple and the Gold!
A smile on the lip,
A tear in the eye --
Salute ye the colors of
Catholic High!

Refrain:
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

• • Msgr. Hugh T. Henry

Athletics

Roman Catholic has been prominent in the Philadelphia Catholic League in basketball since the League's inception, winning 28 of 86 championship games since 1920. Almost a dozen future NBA players have played for the Roman squad during that time. The 2005-2006 season featured Roman's best team in recent years, ranked 2nd among all basketball teams in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Philadelphia Inquirer. That season ended in disappointment; however, with a last-second loss to Neumann-Goretti High School in South Philadelphia. This most recent season, Roman claimed the title of Philadelphia Catholic League Champion, defeating Neuman-Goretti High School 59-56 in the finals.

Roman football has always been a favorite by the students and alumni. In the 2006 playoffs, Roman finished with a strong 9-3 record while losing to La Salle in the second round of Catholic League playoffs.

Roman's cross country team has gone from the worst in the Catholic league 5 years ago to now being considered one of the better teams in the area. Though the Cross Country team has not won a title under the tutelage of Coach Kevin, he has improved the team. He is known for keeping a very large team of over 60 men, and having success with the team.

Roman Catholic is home to one of the most successful crews in North America, practicing for over 10 months a year. Roman is the only Catholic high school in Philadelphia that sculls (uses two oars per man while rowing) rather than sweeps (uses one oar a man while rowing). Recently it contributed a Lightweight Four to the Philadelphia Catholic League Rowing championships, finishing second in 2005 to Monsignor Bonner High School by six-tenths of a second. Roman's major sculling rivals are The Haverford School, Conestoga High School, and Malvern Preparatory School. In 2003 and 2005, two Roman students represented the United States at the Junior World Championships in Athens, Greece & Brandenburg, Germany. In 2006, the crew won the Philadelphia Catholic League Championship for the first time in the school's history over St. Joe's Prep.

Roman's golf team has enjoyed many years of success as one of the top teams in the league. Led by Coach Daniel Hoban '92, a PGA professional, the team has been able to work well together and learn many aspects of the game from Coach Hoban which has propelled the team to immediate succuss. Although this past season was a rebuilding year, the team still finished with a 12-5 record for the regular season but finished with a disappointing 8th out of 9th place at the Catholic League Champs. The team's clearcut leader was definitely senior Kenny Hobbs '07 who is not known for outstanding play on the course but however is known for keeping the team loose with his great sense of humor. Kenny will sorely be missed. Next year the team will turn to captain Andrew Jaskel, a 2-time All-Catholic, who will look to return the team to old form atop the Catholic League.

The lacrosse team, a relatively new team at Roman, has had great success in recent years. Although they have never won a championship they have made it to the semi or quarter finals each of the last four seasons. This is a remarkable feat as almost none of the players on the team had picked up a lacrosse stick before their freshman year. Their biggest rivals are St. Joe's Prep, and Monsignor Bonner. In their 2004 and 2005 seasons Roman Catholic's lacrosse team had three bench-clearing fights with Monsignor Bonner.

Ice Hockey, which is not a school-sponsored sport, but a club sport, has been the most successful sport at Roman since 2000. They captured their first championship in 2000. Then titles came in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, the Cahillites had a tough time, although it led to a little playoff run, which ended by losing in the semifinals, in overtime, versus Bishop Shanahan High School. The Philadelphia Catholic League does not sponsor a hockey league, and Roman participates in the Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League.

Alumni

Roman Catholic boasts some famous alumni, including Charles Fuller, who won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for "A Soldier's Play," a story about racism in the military that was later turned into a successful movie starring Denzel Washington. Roman was also home to John Facenda, a radio and television broadcast fixture in Philadelphia from the 1930s through the 1960s. He is perhaps best known as the deep baritone narrator of NFL Films. Michael Bantom, a member of the 1972 Olympic Basketball team that won a controversial silver medal, is also a graduate. John Ogden, class of 1999, is the daily traffic reporter for NBC 10.

Roman's most famous alumnus is Super Bowl Champion Marvin Harrison, the wide receiver, and current record holder of "Most Connections Between a Wideout and a Quarterback for Touchdowns," of the Indianapolis Colts. Harrison graduated in 1991 from Roman, after being a local sports star in both football and basketball. He led the Roman team to one of its most impressive basketball title victories during the 1989-1990 and 1990-1991 season. In celebration of Marvin's win in the Super Bowl, the entire school (students, faculty, administration, and staff) were treated to free hoagies donanted by a local deli.

On August 17, 2007, Roman Catholic lost its most recent famous alumni, when Eddie Griffin was killed in a train collision in Houston. Griffin was an NCAA All-American at Seton Hall University, before he was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft.

External links

• Roman Catholic High School for Boys
• Roman Catholic High School Alumni Association