History

Most Reverend Edmond Francis Prendergast 1843-1918
The Most Reverend Edmond Francis Prendergast, third Archbishop of Philadelphia, was
born in Colonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland, on May 5, 1843. When he was sixteen he
immigrated to America and almost immediately entered the old Saint Charles Seminary at
Eighteenth and Race Streets. A talented student, he was ordained at the age of twenty-two.
Father Prendergast served as assistant at Saint Paul’s Philadelphia and in Susquehanna County.
He soon became pastor of Saint Mark’s, Bristol; Immaculate Conception, Allentown; and Saint
Malachy’s, Philadelphia. In 1895, he was named Vicar General of the Diocese and two years
later Archbishop Ryan consecrated Monsignor Prendergast as Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia
on July 16, 1911.

During his episcopate, which was short in years, his accomplishments were many. He was
known as a master builder and a real estate genius. He increased parishes and parochial schools.
He founded Saint Francis Country Home for Convalescents and Saint Edmond’s Home for
Crippled Children. Until his death in 1918, Archbishop Prendergast was esteemed by priests and
laity as a friend and solicitous father.

CAMPUS HISTORY
The tract of land upon which sits Monsignor Bonner High School and Archbishop Prendergast
High School was originally owned by Christopher Fallon who, in 1850, built an impressive
octagonal mansion on the site. The house was named “Runnymede” from the Fallon family seat in
Roscommon County in Ireland. In 1882, this unusual building was purchased by Colonel Anthony
J. Drexel. Because of its grounds, gatehouse, and shape, it became a noted residence along
Lansdowne Ave. The mansion stood on what was called the hill of Drexel, and consequently the
surrounding area became known as Drexel Hill. In 1908, the mansion was tragically burned to the
ground with only the gatehouse, which had served as servants’ quarters, remaining.
In 1917, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia purchased the thirty-three acres for $57,000 and the
Ordinary, Archbishop Edmond F. Prendergast, announced the construction of a new orphanage
for five hundred orphans to be run by the Sisters of Charity. The orphanage was to replace the
one that had been demolished because of the construction of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It
was to be called St. Vincent’s Orphanage. Paul Monaghan was employed as architect and
commissioned to build “one of the finest buildings in the diocese.” Work on the project was
slowed by the war, and Archbishop Prendergast died before the work was completed.
On May 9, 1920, a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the dedication took place. On this day, 40,000
people accompanied by bands and musicians, walked from 69th Street to the dedication.
Another 20,000 walked from the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Lansdowne, and 65,000 more
arrived by motorcar or by trolley from 69th Street. Archbishop Dennis Dougherty and Governor
Sproul spoke to the 125,000 well-wishers gathered on the front lawn and along Garrett Road.
St. Vincent’s functioned as an orphanage for over thirty years. By 1952, the number of children
had dwindled. The Most Reverend John F. O’Hara decided to move the remaining orphans to a
smaller building in Saint David’s and to convert the home into Archbishop Prendergast High
School for Boys.

In 1953, to meet the increasing demand for a Catholic high school in the expanding western
suburbs, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia converted the vacated St. Vincent’s Orphanage into a
school for boys under the title Archbishop Prendergast High School. Three years later a new
building was erected on the same tract and named Monsignor Bonner High School in memory of
Rev. John J. Bonner, the former diocesan Superintendent of Schools. Bonner then became a
school for boys and Prendergast was designated as a school for girls.


In 2005 the Office of Catholic Education of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that it would be implementing an administrative restructuring of Monsignor Bonner High School for Boys and the neighboring Archbishop Prendergast High School for Girls. The schools began operating under a co-institutional model in July 2006. This new model allowed for one administration; a single President, Principal, and Assistant Principals for Academic Affairs, Student Services, and Student Affairs. The co-institutional model would provide for single-gender education to remain throughout the core curriculum, while allowing for expanded elective offerings for the upper-classmen.

In January of 2006, the Bonner President, Rev. Augustine Esposito, O.S.A., Ph. D, and the Prendergast Principal, Mrs. Mary Berner were named to their respective positions in the reorganized entity named “Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School”. In July of 2007, Mr. William Brannick replaced Mrs. Berner as Principal of the co-institutional school.

It was with great sadness in June of 2009 that the Augustinian Friars, who had staffed Monsignor Bonner for 56 years, withdrew from campus citing a diminishing number of priests within the Order of St. Augustine. On June 15, 2009 Rev. James Olson, a Diocesan priest, began as President