Church breaks ground on new Catholic school in West Valley
Jan 27, 2017, 2:01 PM
(Diocese of Phoenix Photo)
(Diocese of Phoenix Photo)
PHOENIX — Ground was broken on a new Catholic high school in the West Valley during a ceremony on Friday.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted was joined by parents and future students of the St. John Paul II Catholic High School in the groundbreaking ceremony that took place near the intersection of Thomas and Litchfield roads in Avondale.
Ground is officially broken at @jp2catholicaz! pic.twitter.com/x33cQhTUEn
— The Catholic Sun (@thecatholicsun) January 27, 2017
The school is located next to the St. Thomas Aquinas Church and is expected to open in 2018. The decision was made to build the school because of the rising population in the area.
“Building a new Catholic high school in the West Valley is a clear statement about the importance of young Catholics in the Church’s life and mission today,” Olmsted said in a press release. “St. John Paul II Catholic High School demonstrates our commitment to the wonderful communities that make up the West Valley.”
The new school will be led by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, sometimes referred to as the Nashville Dominicans. The group is known for its educational history.
“It is a joy to be part of the life of the church in Phoenix and to work together with so many faithful church and lay leaders toward the opening of this new high school,” Sister Mary Jordan Hoover, the school’s principal, said in the release.
The school will cost $23 million to build. Fundraising is expected to begin soon.
More than 14,000 students attend schools run by the Diocese of Phoenix.
