Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will bless Pope John Paul II High School in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, on Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 2 p.m. The state-of-the-art high school opened on September 10, 2010 to 900 students. Cardinal Rigali will be joined by Reverend Alan Okon, President of Pope John Paul II, Office of Catholic Education administrators, Office of Catholic Education board members, local government officials, faculty, staff and students in celebrating the formal dedication of the school, which was built to bring together two school communities: the former Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School of Norristown and the former St. Pius X High School of Pottstown.

2:00 pm.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Pope John Paul II High School
181 Rittenhouse Road
Royersford, PA 19468

The new high school spans 209,000 square feet, features 29 wireless classrooms. Each student has received a netbook to use during the school year. The school has five science laboratories, three computer laboratories and a large library/media resource center. Students have access to two dedicated distance-learning classrooms, and all classrooms feature LCD projectors with SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards and videoconferencing capabilities. Additionally, the school features two fine art studios, choral/band suites, a 432-seat cafeteria, a 1200-seat auditorium, a 1000-seat main gymnasium, an auxiliary gymnasium and a fitness center. In support of athletic programs, the school has six competition level sports fields, tennis courts and a running track with an all-weather surface.

One of the hallmarks of the school is a 72-seat chapel that contains furnishings from parishes around the Archdiocese. The wood for the altar is from the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and the former Transfiguration of our Lord Parish in West Philadelphia. The stations of the cross are from St. John the Baptist Parish of Coaldale, Pa. The stained-glass windows are from the former Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in Southwest Philadelphia, and were refurbished prior to installation in the chapel. The school offers Mass every morning before classes begin, and confession is offered weekly.

Construction of Pope John Paul II High School began in August 2008. The school houses students from 38 parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and several more from the Dioceses of Allentown and Reading. More than half (52%) of the students live in the Norristown, Spring Ford and Perkiomen Valley school districts, and several students attend from districts as far-reaching as Quakertown, Brandywine, Cheltenham, Daniel Boone and Philadelphia. Forty-four students enrolled at Pope John Paul II High School come from countries outside of the United States.

For more information about secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit
www.catholicschools-phl.org.

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Meredith Wilson
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215-587-3747