Mary Courtney, developmental director for St. Malachy’s School, received flowers at the Philo Ball.
The Catholic Philopatrian Literary Society, one of the oldest Catholic organizations in Philadelphia – it dates back to the mid-1800s—held its annual ball at the Doubletree Hotel in Philadelphia recently.
Founded by Father Edward J. Sourin, in whose honor an award is given every year, the Philo, as it’s called, provides scholarships and grants to Catholic students in need and to local Catholic schools and colleges.
This year’s ball raised money for St. Malachy’s School, a mission school that serves more than 200 children in North Philadelphia, many of them non-Catholic. At St. Malachy’s there’s a 95 percent daily attendance rate; 91 percent of the kindergarteners test at or above grade level in reading; first graders test 10 percent above grade level in reading; and the majority of students go on to and finish high school.
See our photos of the event. Photos by Gwyneth MacArthur.
