The folks at Notre Dame de Lourdes are probably tired of hearing people tell them they have little chance of reversing the archdiocese's decision to shut down their beloved parish.
They might take solace in another group who received a similar kick in the gut a few years back.
It had been expected for months that the archdiocese would recommend that Archbishop Prendergast and Monsignor Bonner high schools in Drexel Hill end their decades-old tradition of single-sex education and merge into one school.
The school community was stunned to learn instead that both schools were targeted for closure.
Stunned and angry.
The community came together and vowed not to let that happen.
They raised a ton of money. Along the way, they saved not only Bonner and Prendie, but the other Catholic high schools that were on the chopping block as well.
At the center of much of that work was the principal at Bonner, Bill Brannick.
So no doubt there was more than a touch of pride - as well as sadness - at last week's graduation exercises for the newly minted Arhcbishop Prendergast and Monsignor Bonner High School.
It was the first for the new school, but the last for Brannick.
It was announced earlier this year that Brannick was accepting a position as director of technology for the archdiocese's Office of Catholic Education.
Yesterday his position was ably filled by a Prendie grad. Tracey A. Rush was named the new principal at Bonner-Prendie.
She has big shoes to fill.
It was Brannick and Bonner-Prendie President the Rev. James Olson who faced the mammoth task of picking the school community up off the carpet and rallying them to save the school.
They had the right men for the job.
Brannick will be deeply missed, not only by the school, but by a newspaper editor who considered him a friend.
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