The Benedictine monks of Mary Mother of the Church, Benedictine Abbey, in Goochland, want to further develop the 50 acres they own at 12829 River Road. The plan, still in its early stages, is to build a new monastery and renovate their current building as the new home for Benedictine High School, an all-boys college preparatory high school founded in Richmond in 1911. Benedictine is owned and operated by the Benedictine Society of Virginia, and the high school’s athletic fields are already located at the Goochland abbey.

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The higher ups at Benedictine should be ashamed of themselves with this idea of moving the school.  Don’t they have other ways to spend 20 million rather than move the school to where they are probably seeing dollar signs?

Many years ago my mother flew to NC to speak with the Abbot about scattering the ashes of herself and my father.  The cremations were approved and the promise was made that the church would do this for them.  After a scholarship fund in their names and many thousand dollars later my mother died.  Many attempts were made to have the Abbot do what he promised her and NEVER did he respond to phone calls or to letters. My feeling is that the money source died, so why bother. My sister took it upon herself to scatter the ashes of my parents.  Meanwhile, Benedictine took the money left to them by my parents.
If they knew how the money were to be spent things would have been different. They respected the priest’s and the school for it’s history.

Don’t you think the money would be better spent helping the Catholic families in need?  There are many.  No, as always, they will spend it on something to bring them wealthier families.  Shame on you for this.  I no longer consider myself Catholic.  I’m ashamed of the church and the dollars that it so misuses.  No more money from this family.

all i know is that benedictine is,and has been a great place for a kid to go. known primarily for its athletics and they have had some great athletes such as bobby ross, etc…their education system is the best. moving to the west end would most likely not be what the alumni and friends would want but then change never comes easy. i say study every aspect of the planning and then make an intelliegent decision base on those facts.  tom francis…

Mr. Harenchar,

I am going to come out and say that this could be the most poorly concieved idea in Benedictine’s 96 year history.  From what I have heard from everyone I have talked to, it seems like the Board of Trustees and the abbot are the only people who think this scheme will actually produce some good.

Moving the school will destroy almost a century of history, traditions, and fond memories held by former students.  There is no possible way to keep the school the same.  Not only will it no longer be in the city, it will also leave behind the close-knit environment that the current building fosters.  You can walk through the halls and see the senior portraits going back through decades, and feel a connection to them.  They walked the same halls, and went through the same experiences.  Moving Benedictine out of that building will destroy that.  You may as well burn the existing portraits, do away with the military, make the school co-ed, and add a K-12 element…then you can go ahead and call it Collegiate on the River, and simply sell the school to the original Collegiate.  The result is the same…Benedictine as we all know it will be dead. 

Another thing to consider is that BHS currently has a central location, which can be reached easily from anywhere but Petersburg.  Moving Benedictine out to the middle of nowhere, where it is inconvenient for anyone outside Short Pump to commute to, is a bad way to get parents to send their kids there. Freshman and Sophomore year, parents need to drop their kids at school, and often go to work afterwards.  There is no easy way to do that at the abbey.  Part of what makes BHS what it is now is its current location.  Most kids do not go to high school in a city environment, and it adds to the experience of Benedictine.

I think i can speak for all recent alumni when i say that we will not donate a cent if the building moves.  in ten years when we are in the work force and have our lives well grounded, and you want our donations, i doubt you will see much, if anything, from us.

If you really want to put the abbey to good use, why not consider introducing a boarding aspect?  Use the abbey as a place for boarders to stay.  That way you can recruit people and athletes from out of state,or even out of country, and expand the student body in ways that otherwise would not have been possible.  You could run buses every morning to bring students to the abbey, and in the afternoon, several buses already run to bring students to the athletic complex.  That seems like a good compromise to me.  It would expand and improve the school, while keeping us happy and preserving the building we all love.

Whatever you do, do not move the building.  That is a terrible choice, and it is the wrong one.

—John Minisi, Class of 2004(the awesome one.)

Mr. Harenchar,
I frequently visit the BHS website and have not seen any information about the long-range plan/vision that you say is there.  (If the info is there, than it’s hard to find!)  A feasibility study/exploratory committee seem like a huge waste of time and money when the outcry from alumni, students and parents on this issue has already stated the obvious!  Are the decision-makers listening? For years I have been a strong supporter of BHS.  My son graduated from BHS in 2004 and I graduated from SGHS in 1980.  I intend to send my younger sons, ages 13 and 12 to BHS after they finish grade school at St. Ed’s.  My uncle, brother, cousins, brother-in-laws are alumni of the school, so I’m very familiar with the cadet spirit and mindset. I’ve served on the PR/Marketing Committee at St. Ed’s for many years and am a huge proponent of Catholic education.  However, the manner in which this issue has been presented and released to the media is very disturbing! Wouldn’t the monks be better served to explore a project to build a reception hall/event facility overlooking the river that could house BHS & SGHS alumni events, fundraisers, Catholic weddings, corporate events, etc?  There is a real need for such a facility, and the alumni would probably enthusiastically support such a project. Also, has any consideration been made to the monks relocating back to the fan area? As I understand it, there are very few monks now and probably fewer moving up in the ranks. The SGHS Benedictine sisters experienced a similar situation and relocated to a home in the west end—hence no negative impact on the school.  What about the parents who have daughters at SGHS and sons at BHS? Relocation will create a transportation nightmare for these families.  Does a $20 million relocation project for a school which enrolls 250 students EVEN make any sense? The school has a wonderful history and cultural roots at the Sheppard Street location—its heritage is part of the attraction and ambiance to the boys and the parents, many who are alumni.  These elements can’t be measured by your feasibility study and certainly won’t be duplicated with a move to Goochland.  If the decision-makers don’t listen to their core-supporters, they are going to have a mutiny on their hands!
Kim Loehr SGHS Class of 1980

Benedictine is an institution that offers education, discipline, camaraderie, and a variety of students from in and around the Richmond metro area and from all socio-economic backgrounds. 

The opportunity for cadets to experience and urban environment (including St Gertrude’s, the park, Carytown, parallel parking, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and countless other activities exclusive to the city of Richmond) is unmatched by any institution in the area.  In real estate, as it is with Benedictine, much of its value is in the location.

I, for one, would have never attended Benedictine had it not been centrally located.  I would not have considered going to a all male, military, catholic school, in the West End and not only would I not have considered it but my parents would not have either.

I had the luxury of choosing Benedictine as my high school and I did so for a variety of reasons (military, value, diversity, brotherhood, religious education, sports, tradition and location all appealed to me).  This move puts every one of these valuable assets in jeopardy.

It would come as no surprise if the same powers looking to move the school could also be looking at making Benedictine more expensive, co-ed and not militarily affiliated.  This would yield yet another West End school for yuppies, but without the respect and tradition of pre-existing West End schools like St. Chris, St. Catherine’s, and Collegiate and none of what we know as Benedictine.

As if it is not already apparent, I oppose this move, and I can see little benefit to it.  I would approve of a NEW school built in said location, without affiliation to Benedictine, or moreover without changing Benedictine as we know it.

Save Benedictine.

I agree completely with Don Chandler, this is not necessarily a bad thing.  Traditions are kept in the hearts of people, not only in the stone of their buildings.

Consider for a moment what this move would do for the number of attending students?  Right now, Benedictine pulls largely from its alumni’s families and a few other specific areas, but it’s not pulling from the developing areas of the metro area, like Goochland.

This move would bring in more students and cement a closer relationship with the Abbey, which is central to Benedictine’s Catholic identity academically and spiritually.

Mr.Harenchar,

  Why is a MOVE even be considered??? What is wrong with the current location? Why not fix the REAL problems BHS has? the new student/freshmen program is a joke, the honor court is a joke. Dont move the school, I dont understand why a move is even on the table after the pouring of outcry against it! I ask you sir are you an Alumni of our great school?

It’s good to see that we have so many people that care about BHS - its traditions, its rich history and its bright future.  Allow me, as Chair of the Vision 2012 Committee and member of the Board of Trustees to address what is really happening.  In doing so, I encourage everyone to get involved and actively participate in the long range plan for BHS.  It’s posted on our website and we welcome your feedback and participation in charting the future of BHS.  We need your time, your talents and your financial support. 

The Benedictine Society of Virginia, the Benedictine High School Board of Trustees and the school administration have decided to form an exploratory committee and commission a feasibility study to assess the viability and impact of a move to the abbey facility in Goochland County.  The Benedictine Society owns approximately 50 acres on River Road in eastern Goochland where the Mary Mother of the Church abbey currently resides.  In addition, the school has athletic fields that have been on the abbey site since 2001.

The exploratory committee is one component of Vision 2012, a long-range planning and study group designed to look at the future of Benedictine High School and its students.  The feasibility study is being commissioned to determine the viability of relocating the school as well as the impact that move would have on students and the surrounding community.  The feasibility study will also examine all facets of potential relocation, including the disposition of the current school facility at 304 N. Sheppard Street, capital needs to develop and build a new school, demographic and geographic data analysis and infrastructure and community impact.

It has long been the expressed goal of the monastic community to develop a new monastery on the existing land at the abbey.  The current structure far exceeds the needs of the monks in residence and the intent is to design and build a facility to support a growing community of 25 potential monks.  The monks have also desired to co-locate their community and the school.  “Monasteries and schools generally want to be next to each other,” stated Abbot Patrick Moore, abbot of Mary Mother of the Church Abbey.  Since the school’s opening in 1911, there has been a long tradition of involvement by the monks in the educational and theological activities of the school.

The current three-story abbey complex of 110,000 square feet was built in 1960.  The study will also assess the current structure to determine what changes would be needed to support a high school and provide state of the art learning opportunities for the 250 student school as it continues to grow.  At this time, there have been no formal architectural plans developed or capital needs assessments completed.

The study will assist the monastic community, the Board and administration in evaluating the impact of such a move.  Also, during the feasibility study, students, parents, alumni, faculty and key constituents will be providing input.  No timelines have been issued or discussed and the study is expected to continue well into 2008. While the feasibility study is being commissioned, there have not been and will not be any final decisions made regarding a formal commitment to relocate the school.  All current students and prospective students will be attending the school at its present location on N. Sheppard Street, as a decision regarding the school is not imminent.

It is interesting that the school is announcing a major relocation which will cost $20 million before conferring with parents and alumni, meeting with the Goochland neighbors, securing a permit from the county, developing plans, architectural drawings and a timetable for the move or securing a source for funding. Even if the relocation makes sense, this seems to be an odd way to make it happen.

i dont see myself sending my son to BHS if its not in the building that I have history and memories in. future cadets should have the same experiences we had. so much tradition will be lost if the school moves. and tradition is one of the main things that Benedictine is built on.

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