In her prayer, Sr. Rita expressed thanks to God for all of the factors that led to the school being created, including the leadership of Archbishop Lori and the support of the community.
“We praise and thank you that you allowed the making of a new Catholic school, which bears the name of your servant, Mother Mary Lange,” she said.
“Let this be a place where the laughter of children is heard, and everyone will be treated with loving respect,” said Sr. Rita. “Let these holy grounds be a place of peace, offering refuge from chaos and doubt. Let all students who enter this shelter experience the freedom, calm, and safety necessary to learn, play, and explore.”
The $24-million school is home to a chapel, STEM suite, two classrooms for each grade, a robotics lab, a gym, and athletic fields. Some of these facilities will be available for the public to use.
In 2019, when the school was first announced, the Archdiocese of Baltimore said in a news article that the majority of the students who will attend Mother Mary Lange School are not Catholic, and that about 80-90% will receive some form of tuition assistance, either from the archdiocese or from another partner. Maryland is home to the Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today program, which provides scholarships for some lower-income students to attend private schools. During his remarks, Hogan announced that an additional $39 million would be committed to non-public schools to aid students.
The area where the school is to be located was home to a gap created by the closing of other Catholic schools, officials said. The school will become the home for current students at nearby Holy Angels Catholic School and Saints James and John Catholic School.