The Philadelphia Catholic League is a high school sports league composed (as of the 2012-13 year) of 18 Catholic High Schools in Philadelphia and the surrounding Pennsylvania suburbs. The league itself was founded in the summer of 1920 on the steps of Villanova academy (now Alumni Hall on Villanova University's campus) by Monsignor Bonner. The league originally consisted of three sports, one per season: Football in the fall, Basketball in the winter and Baseball in the spring. This was expanded in 1944 to include Cross-country in the fall, Wrestling in the winter, and Track in the spring.
Currently, the schools are divided by size (Red/Large, Blue/Small). In football, the blue and red divisions award separate league championships each year, while all other sports have a unified champion. Starting with the 2008–09 school year, the Catholic League joined the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association in District XII, competing with Philadelphia Public League teams for a restored City Championship in all sports, which was abandoned following the 1979–80 school year due to a dispute of Title IX as girls from both Public and Catholic high schools were prohibited from competing for City Championships. The football divisions were realigned into Blue AA, Blue AAA, and Red (AAAA) [1] [2] Following the closures of Northeast Catholic High School and Cardinal Dougherty High School, along with the merger of Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School into Pope John Paul II High School, along with their decision to join the Pioneer Athletic Conference in Montgomery County, the divisions underwent a realignment in 2010.
* Archbishop Prendergast High School (Delaware County; girls only)*
* Monsignor Bonner High School (Delaware County; boys only)*
* — As of 2012–13, the school competes under the combined names of the schools, Bonner-Prendergast.
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States.
Dennis Joseph Dougherty was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1918 until his death in 1951, and was made a cardinal in 1921. He was Philadelphia's longest-serving archbishop and its first cardinal.
Edmond Francis Prendergast was an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the third Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1911 until his death in 1918.
The Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia is a Catholic high school for boys in Philadelphia. It was founded by Thomas E. Cahill in 1890 as the first Catholic high school in the nation. The school is located at the intersection of Broad and Vine streets in Center City Philadelphia, and is managed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States.
Archbishop Prendergast High School was an all-girl Catholic high school in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It has been merged with Monsignor Bonner High School and renamed.
West Catholic Preparatory High School is a co-educational Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 45th and Chestnut Streets, the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia.
The Flyers Cup is an annual high school ice hockey tournament held by the Philadelphia Flyers. The first Flyers Cup was organized by the Flyers' Hockey Central organization in 1980, sponsored by the Pepsi Cola Bottlers of the Delaware Valley. It was held at the University of Pennsylvania's Class of '23 Rink until relocating to the Haverford Skatium in 1984.
Archbishop John Carroll High School is a four-year secondary school part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, located in Radnor, Pennsylvania, on a 55-acre campus.
Kennedy–Kenrick Catholic High School was a private Roman Catholic high school in Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Alexandre "Alex" Ely was a Brazilian-American soccer midfielder, teacher and author. Ely played extensively in the U.S., Canada and Brazil winning multiple league and cup titles. He also earned four caps with the U.S. national team between 1960 and 1965. In addition to his extensive professional resume, Ely coached at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He was inducted into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1997.
Robert Patrick Maginnis was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1996 to 2010.
Congress Avenue station is a SEPTA Media-Sharon Hill Trolley Line stop in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It is located at Garrett Road and Congress Avenue, and serves both Routes 101 and 102. Only local service is provided on both lines. The station is located on the north side of the terminus of the Congress Avenue intersection. It contains two platforms, but only one pre-fabricated shelter on the south side of the tracks.
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school is named after Charles Borromeo, an Italian saint from the Counter-Reformation.
John Joseph McCort was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Altoona from 1920 until his death in 1936.
Monsignor Bonner High School was an all-male Augustinian Catholic High School in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It was located in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. Bonner was created in 1953 as Archbishop Prendergast High School for Boys. In 1955, the current building was constructed, and in 1957 entitled Monsignor Bonner High School. The previously occupied building became the all-female Archbishop Prendergast High School. In 2012, Bonner merged with the all-girls Archbishop Prendergast High School to form Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School. The Order of St. Augustine is no longer associated with the combined institution.
The 2012 Archdiocese of Philadelphia school closings was the solution to the reducing enrollment problem of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, caused mainly by demographic shifts and an increasing number of students enrolling in unaffiliated schools. Because of this, tuition rates had to be raised, causing fewer families to be able to afford the cost. Being in the decision process for years, the list was finalized by the Blue Ribbon Commission on January 6, 2012 at around 11:00 AM. The schools were informed soon afterward, and they were all officially announced during the press conference at 4:00 PM.
Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School is located in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. The school, which is part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, was originally two schools on one campus. In February 2012, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that the two schools, Monsignor Bonner, the all boys school and Archbishop Prendergast, the all girls school, would be merged into one building.
