After 100 years, St. Aloysius School moves into new home

This year saw the end of more than a century of history when St. Aloysius Parish school moved from the North Hanover Street building erected 104 years ago into the former St. Pius X high school site on North Keim Street.

The move was welcomed by parents and parishioners who helped raise the more than $500,000 needed to upgrade and repair the building and secure the deal.

With that, the school is set to start 100 more years of history with a 99-year lease for the building from the Pennsylvania Foundation for Catholic Education.

The foundation bought the St. Pius X building from the Archidiocese of Philadelphia for $1.2 million and leased it to St. Aloysius for $1 a year.

Public discussion about the possibility of the move began in June, 2016 when the Rev. Joseph Maloney, the pastor at St. Aloysius called a special meeting of the parish and revealed the possibility of a deal with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

“We’ve raised $410,000 in cash and another $150,000 pledged with a 100 percent collection rate on pledges. It’s all thanks to this amazing community of St. Al’s,” Maloney said during the grand-opening ceremony in March

“We’ve now secured our future and ensured the legacy of St. Aloysius while cradling the legacy of St. Pius,” he said.

St. Pius X was closed in 2010 in the wake of the opening of Pope John Paul II High School in Upper Providence.

It had lain vacant and for sale since then until the deal with St. Aloysius was announced.

The doors opened in September when 239 students walked into the new school renovated just for them.

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO The original St. Aloysius School in Pottstown.

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO This sign outside the former St. Pius X High School School on North Keim Street helped spread the word about the move by St. Aloysius Parish School.

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO A young student at St. Aloysius Parish School gets a little help with her locker on the first day of school Monday. This was a special first day as it was the first in the school’s new home, in the former St. Pius X. High School building on North Keim...

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO The Rev. Joseph Maloney, pastor of St. Aloysius parish, welcomes students to the parish’s school’s new location in the former St. Pius X High School — a transition he helped to effectuate.