The end has come for Lebanon Catholic.
It stood for 67 years at 1400 Chestnut St., first as a Catholic high school, then as a consolidated K-12 school, until declining enrollment forced the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg to close it at the end of the 2020 school year.
June 2020: Supporters wear masks to abide by COVID precautions while while demonstrating against Lebanon Catholic’s closing. (Will Trostel)
Read More: Lebanon Catholic alumni reminisce following school closure: ‘It was a family’
The school on Assumption Hill remained empty and deteriorating, used only by partying trespassers, until a private developer bought it from the Diocese in June 2022. Less than a month later, the building was severely damaged by a spectacular arson fire.
Closed Lebanon Catholic School is damaged by arson fire on July 3, 2022. (Lebanon Fire Department)
Several juveniles were charged with setting the blaze, leading Lebanon’s fire chief and many of the school’s alumni and friends to blame the diocese for not properly securing the building against vandals.
In 2025, Lebanon School District bought the school and the 14 acres it sits on from a developer for $5.25 million. The purchase included the adjacent Donaghmore Mansion, which had been used by the school as a convent for nuns.
The Donaghmore Mansion, part of the 14-acre Lebanon Catholic property, is also slated for demolition, according to the Lebanon School District. (LebTown)
Superintendent Nicole Malinoski said at the time that the district planned to demolish the existing buildings and use the land “for future educational and administrative offices,” but gave no timetable or firm plans.
Demolition of building’s rear wall reveals “Home of the Beavers” mural in the school’s gymnasium (LebTown)
Demolition was underway last week, and by Saturday, April 11, the western end of the school, which housed most of the classrooms, was gone. The combination gymnasium and auditorium on the east end was still largely intact.
The school’s orphaned cornerstone surrounded by demolition rubble. (LebTown)
Catholic education returned to Lebanon County a year after Lebanon Catholic closed when Our Lady of the Cross, a pre-K through 12th grade school, opened in September 2021. OLC, which is not affiliated with the Harrisburg Diocese, is at 1691 Grace Ave. in North Lebanon Township.
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