The administrators at Carmel High School in Mundelein are proud of their new addition, and Thursday they gave the public its first peek.
The Hesse Center houses a gymnasium and community center that fills about 2,000 square feet and came with a $2.8 million price tag, built through private donations to the Catholic co-educational school. Thursday was the formal dedication ceremony, attended by a host of dignitaries led by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Catholic archbishop of Chicago.
The presence of Bernardin gave the otherwise routine ceremonial mass the feel of a presidential visit. The band and choir had practiced for weeks, the speakers nervously fumbled through index cards, and those gathered sat a little straighter than usual.
The state-of-the-art center was a dream realized for the school’s Carmel 2000 Capital Campaign, the first funding drive the school has conducted in its 33-year history.
Included in the Hesse Center is the Patrick A. Salvi Arena, named for the Waukegan attorney. It’s a 1,400-seat basketball-volleyball arena, with a running track on the second floor.
The facility also includes new locker room facilities for the school teams and the visiting teams, two multipurpose rooms, coaches offices, a modern athletic sports medicine facility and, of course, a concession stand.
“This new facility has really transformed our school,” said Carmel’s president, Rev. William Harry. “And the center was built in such a way that a pool could be added. But that will likely be in the next phase.”
When that next phase of building will begin is uncertain, however.
“They probably will be sending me a postcard telling me about it,” quipped Harry.
There will be a parking lot added later this year, and the school has 5 acres to expand into the fields and other areas around the campus, officials say.
“The addition of the new facility also will give us more classroom space with multipurpose rooms,” Harry said.
Besides the Hesse Center, named after the late Janet Hesse and her late son, Paul, a 1966 Carmel graduate; the Carmel 2000 campaign established an endowment fund of $350,000 for need-based financial aid; as well as an endowment fund of $250,000 for teacher enrichment programs, school officials said.
“Everyone is excited about our new facility and the fact that Cardinal Bernardin could be here with us for the dedication,” Harry said.
The cardinal was joined by hundreds of Carmel students, teachers, community members and religious leaders to celebrate the dedication.
The cardinal’s visit marked only the second time he had visited the school. Cardinal Bernardin previously came to Carmel in 1987 to take part in the school’s 25th anniversary celebration.
For many of the students at the school, it was the first time ever seeing the cardinal in person.
“It was like a normal mass service you see every Sunday, but hey, it’s the cardinal saying it this time,” said junior Mike Papaleo, 16, dressed in a gray suit.
“I thought he would be really preachy,” said sophomore Meghan Rafferty, 15. “But he was really good with the students. He talked to us on our level. He didn’t talk down to us.”
When Carmel Student Council President Janet Sands presented Cardinal Bernardin with a school sweater and then gave Bishop Gerald Kicanas, Vicar of Lake County, a school sweatshirt, a sense of humor surfaced.
“Your gift is much nicer than mine,” a smiling Bishop Kicanas said.
Bernardin, grinning, replied: “That’s because I’m the cardinal. You’re just a bishop.”
