New High School Will Be Named for Cardinal Wuerl

A new Catholic high school to be built in Cranberry will be named for former Pittsburgh Bishop Donald W. Wuerl, now the archbishop of Washington, D.C.

The school, to be built on Route 228 across from the new St. Kilian Catholic elementary school, will be named Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School, Bishop David A. Zubik announced Friday. It is scheduled to open for the 2012-2013 school year.

The high school, which will hold up to 1,000 students, is the largest building project undertaken by the Diocese of Pittsburgh in recent history, the bishop said in a statement. It will cost between $54 and 60 million.

"In recognition of the tremendous contributions made by Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C., during his 18 years as bishop of Pittsburgh and his nationally recognized leadership in Catholic education, it is most fitting that we will dedicate this exciting project in his name," Bishop Zubik said.

The school will incorporate programs now offered at North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh's Troy Hill neighborhood. The diocese last year announced plans to close that school and move programs to Cranberry in response to population growth and shifts in the North Hills.

The school will provide young men and women "a 21st-century education rooted in the Marianist values and tradition of North Catholic High School,'' said the Rev. Kris Stubna, the diocesan secretary for Catholic education. "Our goal is to create the pre-eminent private coeducational high school situated in the fastest-growing population center in southwestern Pennsylvania.

"With an academic program and physical plant to serve the needs of our families and Pittsburgh as a whole for years to come, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School will be a model of Catholic education for the entire country -- academic excellence, value-centered, faith-filled and family-based," Father Stubna added.

A diocesan-wide program is under way to raise money for the new school.