Gala Five Decades In The Making

Voices from the past help Epiphany celebrate 50 years

Bishop Frank J. Dewane stands with the Epiphany Cathedral School Advanced String Ensemble during the school’s 50th Anniversary Gala Oct. 24 at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Vencie. The students performed at the event under the direction of Chandelle LaForest.

BOB REDDY | FC
Bishop Frank J. Dewane stands with the Epiphany Cathedral School Advanced String Ensemble during the school’s 50th Anniversary Gala Oct. 24 at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Vencie. The students performed at the event under the direction of Chandelle LaForest.

BOB REDDY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF

Posted: 11.04.09

VENICE | Msgr. George Cummings and Sister Helen Nugent, Sisters of St. Benedict, had a lasting impact on the Epiphany Cathedral School community.

The pair founded the Blue Ribbon school in 1959 and helped it grow from its humble beginnings in borrowed classrooms with 54 students. Today the school is a beacon of academic excellence to its current crop of students, with thousands of alumni who now serve in the community as leaders.

Both Msgr. Cummings and Sister Helen are retired and in their 90s, but their influence and vision still resonate, said current Principal Dr. Irene Lynch.

“Without their leadership, we wouldn’t have Epiphany Cathedral School,” Lynch said. “It is a privilege and honor to follow in their pioneering footsteps and launch into the next 50 years of excellence.”

The school is celebrating its first 50 years with a yearlong celebration of events for students, teachers, parents and alumni. One of the key events was the 50th Anniversary Gala at Plantation Golf and Country Club on Oct. 24.

The dinner and auction brought people together in celebration, including several of the former principals and teachers, including Sister Mary Zetta LaValle, School Sisters of Notre Dame, who was principal for nine years from 1977 to 1986. Sister Mary said she remembers each day she served at Epiphany as if it were yesterday. Now retired in Connecticut, she said it was fun teaching the children about spiritual and character issues. “That is so important in education,” she said. “I wish all children received a Catholic education. It is so valuable.”

Bishop Frank J. Dewane echoed those thoughts by first thanking the parents for choosing to send their children to the school, and to the teachers and administrators for ensuring those young minds are given the best a Catholic education has to offer.

“Epiphany School educates the whole person, always remembering that the students are each called by God to know him, love him and to serve him in this world,” Bishop Dewane said.

The evening included a live auction with the help of ABC-7 Reporter/Anchor Josh Taylor. The Epiphany School Advanced String Ensemble also performed under the direction of Chandelle LaForest.

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