By Elena Perri • Posted May 2, 2025

While many surprises are associated with joyful occasions in life, there are times when unplanned surprises can be alarming.

The St. Pius X Parish community in Broomall experienced one of those unexpected surprises in October 2023 when the bricks on the wall of the third floor of the school fell off and crushed three air conditioning units that had been installed only a few months before.

“Fortunately, no one was injured, but it was very visible to us that something had to be done,” said James Malinowski, director of religious education at St. Pius. “Palmer Masonry secured the area and made sure nothing else was going to fall.”

That was the first sign of problems with the building, and the parish contracted with O’Donnell & Naccarato, a structural engineering firm, to inspect it.

The firm’s report showed that the brick façade on the walls of the school had not been properly attached to the concrete structure when the building was constructed in 1957.

“There’s a shock, but my main thing was that no one was injured,” said Msgr. William Kaufman, pastor of St. Pius. “Those three air conditioners were crushed, but the best thing was no one was hurt.”

The affected area was immediately roped off and scaffolding was installed around the school which has approximately 400 students enrolled.

In addition, the building is used for religious education classes for 300 students, and many activities have been held in the school auditorium which at one time served as the parish’s first church.

Fortunately, St. Pius had financial resources available to help pay for the repair work. An endowment had been created by parishioners and school parents prior to Msgr. Kaufman becoming pastor in 2012. Parishioner Paul T. Worthington also had made a generous donation to St. Pius in the years since.

In addition to using savings accrued through parish fundraising, money from the endowment and the Worthington donation was allocated to repair the three walls in Phase I of the restoration project.

More Damage Discovered, More Money Needed

However, previously unknown damage was uncovered when the brick, doors and windows were replaced last summer.

“When they took the brick down, they found some structural issues that also needed to be addressed, some shoring and bracing of different interior beams, which added a cost of just under $300,000 to the project,” Malinowski said.

During Masses last September, Msgr. Kaufman explained to his parishioners that an additional $300,000 was needed to complete Phase I.

“Monsignor got up in the pulpit and said, ‘We’re going to have two weeks of second collections,’ and in those two weeks, a quarter of a million dollars came in,” Malinowski said. “That was almost a year after the initial bricks failed, so people had seen scaffolding on campus and knew there was a need, so they were ready to pitch in when asked.”

Msgr. Kaufman recognizes that raising that amount of money in such a short period of time was a remarkable achievement – all the more so because the money was raised by speaking to the parishioners who attended those Masses, not from communicating with the entire parish community.

“Parishioners gave a quarter of a million dollars, and we didn’t need to go to a bank for a loan,” he said. “From the moment I first told the people of our parish about the issues with our school building façade, I was confident they would respond to help address these pressing needs, and I am grateful to so many people who have supported our efforts already.”

Rebuilding in 3 Phases, Brick by Brick

To complete the second and third phases of the restoration work, the parish launched its Building the Future Brick by Brick Campaign last fall with the repairs slated to be completed by next summer.

Malinowski explained that the flaw in the building’s brick façade from 1957 stemmed from the parish’s need to build the school quickly and then to begin building a new church.

He added the parish has focused on making direct appeals for funds to pay for Phases I and II so that it can pay bills as they are due.

“We have begun accepting pledges and have begun identifying and asking specific parishioners with a history of giving to the parish and school,” Malinowski said.

“The goal would be if people pledge now, hopefully they would do it over a three-year period,” said Erin Donovan, advancement coordinator at St. Pius. “The money would go to Phase II and then Phase III when that begins, because the goal would be to start Phase III in the summer of 2026.”

All the repairs are expected to be completed before the school celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2027.

Donovan said a recent cocktail party for a select group of parishioners has yielded additional financial commitments.

“We’ve had a few pledges come in, and we’re hoping for more pledges to come in from that,” she added.

Strong Giving for Walls, Windows, and Roof

The St. Pius X Home and School Association also has stepped up to help with raising funds for the Brick by Brick campaign. The HSA organized a 50/50 raffle last September when school families began selling tickets.

A beef-and-beer fundraiser was held Feb. 1, and raffle tickets were sold throughout the night. By the time the drawing took place, $43,850 had been collected. The winner took home $21,925.

“After Christmas, sales picked up because we did a strong push on social media for people to buy tickets, and then it just ballooned from there,” Malinowski said.

“We were shocked that the pot grew that much in such a short amount of time,” Donovan added.

Malinowski said the Home and School Association donated the $30,000 raised through the 50/50 raffle and the beef-and-beer event, and that money will be put toward the cost of the second phase of repairs.

“We were grateful that they were willing and able to donate all the proceeds to us,” Donovan said.

Malinowski explained that the parish needs to raise approximately $258,000 to complete the Phase II work which will address the major areas of concern: repairing the walls and installing new windows for half the classrooms along Lawrence Road.

“They probed the front of the building and found a couple areas where the shoring and bracing is going to need to be done as part of Phase II,” he said. “That’s why we picked the spaces we did for Phase II to be completed this summer because those were the most pressing needs.”

Phase III is slated for the summer of 2026, and it will include replacing windows and repairing the walls, he said.

“We are saying that Phase III right now is about $1.9 million which will include a new roof,” Malinowski added. “We’re still in conversations with the engineers and the masons as to the extent of what Phase III needs to be. Once they take down the walls during Phase II, they’ll have a better sense of whether there’s more that needs to be addressed.”

A Safe Rebuild for a Thriving Community

While the project has been costly, safety remains a high priority.

“If it costs more money, it’s because we’re doing it safely and correctly,” Malinowski said. “We want to make sure that it’s done right.”

The school buildings are a vital part of the life of the parish because they are used for many important purposes, according to Msgr. Kaufman.

“I firmly believe that our parish will continue to be the thriving community it is, so long as we can continue to safely use our school buildings,” he said. “I believe with the help of God and with the help of good, generous and caring people, both parishioners and outsiders, that everything would come to fruition in a very positive way.

“I’m confident in their ongoing generosity for all (that) remains to be completed.”

For more information about the campaign and ways to donate, visit: https://saintpius.net/future/