Convent of the Sacred Heart Takes Title to Its 110-acre Greenwich Campus

This announcement originally posted Nov. 2.

At a ceremony on Tuesday, November 1 at Convent of the Sacred Heart (CSH), an independent Catholic day school for girls in Greenwich, members of the CSH community and representatives of the Society of the Sacred Heart celebrated the completion of a transaction that transfers title to the entire 110 acres of land on which the campus is located from the Society of the Sacred Heart.   

The announcement was made to the school community by CSH's Head of School Pamela Juan Hayes and the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Paula Tennyson, together with the Provincial of the Society of the Sacred Heart in the United States, Paula Toner, RSCJ.  In the audience at the all-school liturgy were members of the Board of Trustees, representatives of the Society of the Sacred Heart, and school administrators, faculty, staff and students.

Remarking on this historic moment, Mrs. Hayes said: "Many years before I came to Greenwich, the leadership of our school and the Society determined that it would be in the best long-term interests of both institutions to have Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich acquire the deed to this property when the time was right.  The Society, experiencing increased costs especially in their health and elder care, recently expressed the desire to move forward with this transaction."

Joining Mrs. Hayes at podium, Mrs. Tennyson stated: "Our Board of Trustees agreed that this is the right time in our history to seize this exceptional opportunity. Holding title to the land allows us to expand our footprint, advance our programs, further our mission and secure the future of the School in perpetuity."

The Society purchased the property in 1942 from the family of publishing magnate Paul Block.  The Society made this investment with the dual intention of developing a school in Greenwich and securing an asset for future needs of the Society.  Convent of the Sacred Heart first opened its doors to students in Greenwich in 1945, and it has operated ever since on land owned by the Society.  At the closing, CSH acquired the 60 additional acres, beyond the 50 it already controls, and the deed for the entire 110 acres from the Society for $9 million.

Addressing the audience of nearly 1,000 at a Mass celebrating the Feast of St. Philippine Duchesne, Sister Toner said: "I am delighted to be here with you on this important day in your school's history.  As one of the 22 schools in the U.S. Network of Sacred Heart Schools, you are part of a global educational mission in the 41 countries served by the Religious of the Sacred Heart.  We are especially grateful for the support you have given to our schools in Uganda and Kenya and to our mission in Haiti. I look forward to our continued mission together of making known the love of the heart of God through educating young women to become courageous and successful leaders in the 21st century."

For more about Convent of the Sacred Heart: www.chsgreenwich.org

Read about the Society of the Sacred Heart: www.rscj.org and the U.S. Network of Sacred Heart Schools:  www.sofie.org.