Hundreds attend opening of Catholic school in Hudson

The high school is the first to join the diocese in 41 years. Gov. Jeb Bush attended, giving the keynote speech.

HUDSON - Hundreds of parishioners, benefactors, politicians, priests, parents and students gathered Monday evening to dedicate the first new high school to join the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg in 41 years.

The new smell had not even begun to wear off at the $22-million Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School as people from across the state and region joined in song and prayer for the future of the Hurricanes, the mascot that was plucked from the nickname of the school's namesake: Bishop Charles "Hurricane Charlie" McLaughlin - the diocese's first bishop.

Gov. Jeb Bush, a Catholic who has made school choice initiatives a cornerstone of his educational policy, gave the keynote address in the school's 1,010-capacity gymnasium before disappearing into a crowd of autograph-seeking constituents and curious members of the school's small charter class.

Built to hold 800 students with state-of-the-art athletic, fine arts and educational facilities, the school opened Aug. 11 with about 50 ninth-graders, most of whom sat proudly together in their blue oxfords and khaki pants and skirts. Tuition at the school tops out at $5,500 per student.

Bush praised the vision of the school's founders in designing the 154,424-square-foot building with wireless Internet access and equipping all of the school's teachers and students with laptops.

"It will embrace technology in ways that will set it apart from many schools in the state," Bush said.

Bishop Robert Lynch led a processional of priests as they made the rounds through the school, silently sprinkling the classrooms and halls with holy water from olive branches dipped in crystal bowls.

"A Catholic school transmits values, which begin and end in the person of Jesus Christ," Lynch said. "We want our students to love the Father as Jesus did."

Lynch received a boisterous ovation when he expressed a desire to open the diocese's seventh high school before his tenure as bishop ends - this one, he said, in southeastern Hillsborough County.

Departing the 90-acre campus, Bush noted that the fast-growing state will need an additional 500,000 student seats in public schools in the next 10 years. He suggested that the establishment of more Catholic schools can help relieve that burden.

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