Cardinal Blesses Building at Austin Prep

Austin Preparatory School in Reading welcomed Cardinal Seán O’Malley to campus for the first time recently and honored a distinguished alumnus of the school during a special blessing ceremony

“I am delighted to be with you here today and am so pleased to see the great program you have accomplished,” Cardinal O’Malley said. More than 1,000 students, faculty, administrators, parents and alumni were on hand for the event.

The celebration began with Mass in the school’s gymnasium, now named Meelia Hall, in honor of Richard J. Meelia of Boston, an alumnus from the class of 1967. After Mass, the Cardinal blessed Meelia Hall.

Mr. Meelia thanked the Cardinal for blessing the building, and recalled his days at Austin Prep in the mid-1960s. At that time, the then-new school did not have a gymnasium, and he said it was an honor to have his name on such a great facility. Austin Prep built the gymnasium in 2001, and recently named it for Mr. Meelia.

“I have to tell you that myself and others that went here during that time, we loved the school,” Mr. Meelia said. “We loved being here and we appreciated what they gave us.

After graduating from Austin Prep, he received a bachelor’s degree from Saint Anselm College and an MBA from Boston College.

Mr. Meelia retired in 2011 as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Covidien Plc, a leading $11 billion global healthcare products company.

Covidien, formerly known as Tyco Healthcare, spun off from parent company Tyco International in 2007. Mr. Meelia was elected President and Chief Executive Officer of Covidien at that time and was appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors. He was elected to the additional position of Chairman of the Board in 2008.

Mr. Meelia is a member of the Board of Directors of St. Francis House, Por Cristo, and Saint Anselm College. He is a member of the Board of ConforMis, and also the Chairman of the Board for both Apollo Endosurgery Inc., and Haemonetics.