There will be a banquet at the Petroleum club for the "Holy Rosary Revitalization" project on February 26th.

Mike Stagg, a vice president of the Holy Rosary Redevelopment group, joined "Mornings With Ken and Bernie" today to talk about the fundraiser to rebuild the three-story classroom building which is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Tickets for this a-501(c)3 event are 40 dollars, and you can get them by calling 962-1680.  All proceeds go to the capital fund that will be used to restore the building.

Dr. Norman Francis, President of Xavier University in New Orleans, is the featured speaker. He is a Lafayette native and his family has long and deep ties to Holy Rosary. Saint Katharine Drexel, who founded Xavier, provided the funds for the original construction of the building back in 1913 — the same time she was starting Xavier.

Stagg says architect Kirby Pecot will also give a presentation on the plans to stabilize and restore the building, which is the purpose of the capital campaign.  They are not using governmental funds, and there goal is to begin construction this year They would like to have the work on the stabilization of the structure, a new roof, new floors as portions of the second and third floors have collapsed, replace windows and doors.

The property was re-donated by the Diocese of Lafayette back to the original owners the Sisters of the Holy Family religious order. The Diocese retained ownership of the Holy Family Apartments on Louisiana Avenue. The Sisters of the Holy Family, in turn, negotiated a long-term lease with Holy Rosary Redevelopment for the historic building. They retain control of the rest of the  property which is about 35 acres.

Holy Rosary Institute was closed by the Diocese in 1993. The main classroom building has sat vacant since then. Time has not been kind to it. That's why there is a sense of urgency to get the structure repaired and stabilized first before moving on to implementing plans for the use of the building.

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