By Kathy McGee Burns
“I have faith in myself
I have faith in my teachers
I can learn if I study hard
I will learn because I will study hard
I respect others and seek their respect
I have self-respect
I have self-control
I love myself
And loving myself I will be myself
And know myself
I am the one who is talking.”
This is the creed said every morning, after prayers, by the students at St.Malachy School in North Philadelphia. Many of these students are from public housing, most are poor, and most aren’t Catholic. On Fridays, they go to the church for a weekly service, not for Mass, but to experience the splendor and richness of that lovely old church. Father John McNamee, the now retired pastor, often says that sometimes the students need beauty even more than they need bread.
St. Malachy School, named after the 12th century Irish Bishop from Armagh, was opened in 1860, in North Philadelphia, shortly after Irish immigrants and the Sisters of Mercy founded the church, once called “the church in the woods” because of its location outside the 19th century city limits. Its purpose was to educate working-class immigrant children and many Irish-Americans in the Philadelphia area can trace their roots back to St. Malachy’s. My own great-grandparents, Timothy and Bridget Clancy Callahan, were members of the parish and they baptized seven daughters at the church. My grandmother, Mary Josephine, along with her sisters, attended the school.
Among Philadelphia’s schools, Catholic and public, St. Malachy’s has been a remarkable success story. Of its approximately 200 students, 99% are African American and 1% are Latino. Twenty five students graduate in the class of 2009 and and are all going on to excellent schools, including LaSalle, Roman Catholic, Merion Mercy, Hallahan, Charter School for Architecture & Design, and Central. And there’s no selective admissions policy at the school.
St. Malachy’s manages this miracle without taking any money from the Archdiocese. The school runs strictly on donations, some of it from the descendants of those immigrants who founded the school more than a century ago.
This year, a number of local Irish organizations have formed a committee to help coordinate funding for the coming year. It intrigued me that so many busy people decided to take the time to ask their friends and associates to support a school in North Philadelphia. So I asked!
Jim McLaughlin, president of the Irish-American Business Chamber and Network said he is involved because he thinks its important to maintain a Catholic educational presence in the inner city. Keeping a beacon of light alive reflects the Church living its values to both students and neighbors.
Anne O’Callaghan, executive director of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, an immigrant resource organization, told me that she thinks that the best gift we can give children is a good education. Inner-city Catholic schools that were once the salvation of Irish immigrants and are now providing a unique, faith-based education that breaks the cycle of poverty. She cited a study that found that 100 percent of St. Malachy’s graduates go on to graduate high school, compared to only 54 percent in the city’s public schools.
In the last 25 years, St. Malachy’s School has empowered thousands of students to realize their potential, forge brighter futures and allow them to enjoy the lifelong benefits of a holistic experience. Anne believes that it is a privilege to contribute to provide this opportunity to children who would otherwise be denied this advantage.
Theresa Flanagan Murtagh, immediate past president of the Donegal Association and member of many organizations, says she welcomes the opportunity to work together with these Irish leaders for a common goal, to support a very worthy cause, and help a parish which was initially founded by Irish Immigrants. She and her husband, Paul, are committed to supporting schools that not only produce academic excellence but also build Christian values and promote Catholic faith.
Rich Brennan, AOH Division #1(Dennis Kelly) credits the spirit of his late Great Aunt, Sister Mary Basil, who taught at St. Malachy’s, for inspiring him to volunteer. Rich attended St. Joseph’s University where he learned and now practices the teachings of the Jesuits: Cura Personalis (total care of the entire person) for the (greater good) Magis. He believes that there is a wonderful opportunity to work beside others who support its mission and assist with achieving its goals. Rich is a great example of the success of Catholic education and the desire to give back to others.
Ed Keenan was drawn to the committee by his experience as a longtime St. Malachy’s volunteer and his devotion to Father McNamee, who is known as Father Mac. Ed told me he loves St. Malachy’s because he feels at home there. It is a “welcoming” place, the most Catholic, that is, “universal” church that he has ever attended.
And me, well, I sense Mary Josephine Callahan there and I think she would want me to share the fruits of my education, success and upbringing—the same things St. Malachy’s provided for her when she was a student there in 1886.
So we, the Committee, are asking you to help support the work of St. Malachy’s School by becoming a sponsor of the major fundraiser of the year, a concert by “Mick Moloney and Friends,” which is usually a standing-room-only event scheduled this year for November 1.
There are several sponsorship levels:
The “Father Mac” Sponsorship: $5,000
Official underwriter of concert and reception
Full page recognition in event program
Name on inside cover of event program
On-site event signage recognition
Verbal recognition at the event
Reserved front row seating at the event
The Emerald Sponsorship: $2,500
Official underwriter of printing
Full page recognition in event program
Name on inside front cover of event program
On-site event signage recognition
Verbal recognition at the event
The Shamrock Sponsorship: $1,000
Official underwriter of event program
Half-page recognition in event program
Name on back cover of event program
On-site event signage recognition
The Claddagh Sponsorship: Up to $500 Level
Official friend
Business card logo in event program
Name on back cover of event program
On-site event signage recognition
To become a sponsor, contact Jim Martin at 215 850 4084 or jimart40@mac.com, or Kathy McGee Burns at 215 872-1305 or mcgeeburns@aol.com
