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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If the Benedictines are going to spend such a huge amount of money, maybe they could build a co-ed high school on their grounds and keep Benedictine in it’s current location. The Richmond area really needs a Catholic co-ed high school. Blessed Sacrament Huguenot is too far away.

Speaking as a student at Saint Gertrude, there has been plenty animosity over this situation on Stuart Street also.  Not only will moving Benedictine throw out a whole wave of tradition for Benedictine, it will also change Saint Gertrude.  Like some have mentioned, the Sponsor’s Program, joint clubs, and many social events would never be the same.  What about all the service that BHS and SGHS students do in the city of Richmond?  Do you think the west end schools travel twenty minutes to the city to work with the Red Cross or tutor St. Benedicts students?  What about the feeder schools? 
If this move is successful, things will never be the same.

This move would continue the transformation of Benedictine into yet another rich, white preppy school for rich kids from the west-end. Richmond has enough of those schools already and Benedictine should attempt to hold to its roots as a Catholic city school pulling students in from many different backgrounds.  That history is what makes Benedictine special, and that is why I am proud to say I graduated from Benedictine. I hope I can still say that a decade from now.

Count me among the disapproving alumni; I’m distraught at the thought of a Benedictine High School removed from the location that so well fostered its growth and unique development. As my brother, Mr. Dance, remarked, I’m all for progress, but I cannot support anything that will compromise the character of an institution that so incomparably shaped my own.

Moving Benedictine to the Abbey will destory everything that the school has ever stood for.  All tradition, all history, everything that was and is currently Benedictine will be lost forever.  Don’t make the biggest mistake possible and move this to the abbey.

As a current student attending Benedictine, I strongly oppose moving to the Abbey. To move the school would completely change the “Benedictine Experience.“ The Abbey lacks the senior stairs, senior parking, the attic, the bell tower, the stairs all of us sang on during orientation in the cafeteria, Coach Rut Memorial Gym, and many other parts of the school that you cannot replicate. To move the school would completely destroy every lasting tradition at Benedictine, and would just turn us into another one of the “West End Schools” with no tradition whatsoever. I do not expect any alumni cooperation, and as others have said before me, I doubt any money will be give to the school for the move. I will lose all pride for my school if it were to move to the Abbey, because it will not be the school I have attended the past four years. I will have no correlation to the young men that will walk the halls of the Abbey because they won’t get even remotely the same experience I have received at Benedictine (on Sheppard Street). Bottom line, if you move Benedictine, you will be ruining everything it has stood for in the past hundred years, and will destroy Benedictine’s good name.

What a terrible, self-centered decision on the part of the Benedictine Hierarchy!

Benedictine, along with its ‘sister’ school St. Gertrude High School, is an urban, educational landmark and beacon.

There are precious few,if any,schools in the urban area that meet the need that Benedictine does. There is not one educational reason why the school and the abbey needto be ‘together’. However, there are many educational, cultural, relgious, and geographical reasons why Benedctine shour remain where it is.

Shame on the brothers…...

The news I received yesterday regarding Benedictine’s somewhat autocratic decision to relocate the school to their Abbey site was shocking. Who were the decisionmakers, and who gave them the right to relocate the school without asking for input from alumni who span a history of nearly 100 years? For a school that prides itself with its dedicated alumni base, they’ve certainly done a fine job of showing their appreciation with this move.

Relocating this school would mean the loss of stories and traditions spanning nearly a century that give the school a life of its own. Gone would be the atmosphere of legendary basketball games in Coach Rut’s gym and the names and signatures of hundrededs of alumni in the Gym’s rafters.  So, too, would the unique military tradition of the school likely dissipate. 

The school nearly burnt to the ground, but that didn’t keep it from rebounding since so many alumni, students and faculty wanted to preserve and build upon its rich history. The fond memories and connections to that place are so immense and unlike any other place I’ve known.

The School’s urban location is one of its greatest assets and sets its aside from many of the other placeless private schools in the Greater Richmond area. Carytown, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the Musueum District neighborhood - just to name a few - complement the school and give it greater meaning. The City of Richmond has made such a great comeback in recent years and Benedictine should continue to remain part of that glory.

As I said before, Benedictine nearly burned to the ground, but it came back. Why burn it down again?

where’s the money coming from?  The Catholic Virginian just published an article that the local diocese bought an office building at parham & broad & will sell the buildings in the fan near the Cathedral to pay for the new building which will house the offices of the diocese & those of the newpaper, why didn’t they move those offices to Goochland where they already own empty space instead of spending millions of dollars on buying & renovating this new space in Henrico????

I thought this was a joke when someone called to give me this terrible piece of news. Although I know the “school” (AKA the abbey officials) have been considering the move for years, although I never thought they’d actually have the gall to do so. Needless to say, this is one of the worst things that could happen to Benedictine. Benedictine is not simply the building, obviously, but has so much to do with the school itself. Kissing city-bound minority, the SGHS relationship, and the general environment of the school away is a terrible idea and an idea I will not soon let happen. Everyone who can call themselves a Cadet, no matter if they graduated, only attended BHS for a year, or is a 3rd generation Cadet knows that our building and all of its features are essential to our Benedictine community. I am so distraught by this proposal right now that I cannot even put many of my emotions into words. This horrible re-location plan will not go down without our loud and clear opposition to Abbott Patrick’s plans. Abbott Patrick is not a true Cadet or member of OUR Benedictine community, regardless of what his religious title implies or qualifies him for. While I tip my cap to Abbott Patrick’s years of genuine service, I am not about to sit down and let my alma mater be moved/destroyed by a man I, or other Cadets, have rarely, if ever, even seen and spoke with.

Thanks alot, Abbott

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