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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This is an unfortunate move for Benedictine High School. The one single advantage our institution overwhelmingly has over other area schools is the tradition instilled within those walls and the unique comraderie of the alumni. Without this building, none of these things will be possible. It will ruin the school and the reason why kids attend. This entire ploy is all about the monestary’s needs and wants and how they can’t manage it since it is so large. But blowing $20 million on a project no one supports that will inevitably fail won’t fix the problems the monestary has. During our critical time of enrollment, the abbot has chosen the worst time to come out with this announcement. It’s my hope that he will take all this back before prospective Cadets are lost due to this news.

I hope that this decision was made knowing that alumni support to move the school to the Abbey would be non-existent. The traditions and memories built by Cadets for almost 100 years on Sheppard Street would be lost if this move took place. Also, I don’t know how they will afford this move. I’m sure they are planning on raising funds from the BHS family, but judging from the reaction by the alumni, that isn’t going to get them too far. Let’s hope that Benedictine can survive this and will remain where it belongs: in the Fan.

Where do they expect to raise 20 million dollars for this move?

Their endowment is a fraction of that for the higher-end schools like Collegiate and St. Chris.  So I honestly can’t see them raising this kind of money in just 3 or 4 years.

There is no way we as alum can allow this to happen!...I always wondered if i would send my kid to bhs…but if this goes down…the decision will have already been made…and that breaks my heart

That brick building on Sheppard Street is packed with memories and experiences of so many alumni. Moving BHS to the Abbey will uproot a great deal of history that I, personally, am not willing to part with. I spent four years there, learning and growing as an individual, cheering on my fellow Cadets on in Coach Rut’s gym, and adding my name to the bell tower along with hundreds of other alumni. These are events we all look back on and will remember for the rest of our lives.

I realize Sheppard Street is not the largest and greatest facility, but there is so much to lose if BHS is relocated. The Benedictine experience will not be the same.

As a city kid growing up in Richmond, Benedictine was the clear choice in attending private schools due to its location and public transportation accessibility.  A great many of the kids, especially the minority kids, depend on public transportation to get there.  Although I’m always in support of progress, let’s not loose sight of the basic needs of all of our kids in and outside the classroom.

As a city resident, I would hate to see Benedictine move, as given the less than desirable public school situation in our city, Benedictine is one of the very few alternatives for high school aged city boys.  Most folks who live in the city are not going to drive to Goochland - consider your market!

As an alum, I am strongly against this proposed move.  Much of Benedictine’s mission over the years has been to educate youth from across the Richmond area (particularly those in the city who do not wish to attend Richmond’s troubled public schools).  This move makes the school far less accessible to those who live in the city, as well as those (like myself) who reside in the eastern suburbs.  I do not wish to see Benedictine become just another West End private school.  I hope that it maintains its current location and special identity.

To move benedictine would be a miserable decision. It would mean not only the loss of a landmark, but also a beacon of history and tradition that has been standing strong for close to a hundred years. The walls are alive with the memories of years past and the hoped and dreams of those that are there and have yet to come. Keep Benedictine on Sheppard Street.

I think this is a stupid idea that would ruin the school…

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