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\t\tJune 2020: Supporters wear masks to abide by COVID precautions while while demonstrating against Lebanon Catholic\u2019s closing. (Will Trostel)<\/p>\n
Read More:\u00a0Lebanon Catholic alumni reminisce following school closure: \u2018It was a family\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n The school on Assumption Hill remained empty and deteriorating, used only by partying trespassers, until a private developer bought it<\/a> from the Diocese in June 2022. Less than a month later, the building was severely damaged by a spectacular arson fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n Several juveniles were charged with setting the blaze, leading Lebanon\u2019s fire chief and many of the school\u2019s alumni and friends to blame the diocese for not properly securing the building against vandals.<\/p>\n In 2025, Lebanon School District bought the school<\/a> and the 14 acres it sits on from a developer for $5.25 million. The purchase included the adjacent Donaghmore Mansion<\/a>, which had been used by the school as a convent for nuns.<\/p>\n \t\tThe Donaghmore Mansion, part of the 14-acre Lebanon Catholic property, is also slated for demolition, according to the Lebanon School District. (LebTown)<\/p>\n Superintendent Nicole Malinoski said at the time that the district planned to demolish the existing buildings and use the land \u201cfor future educational and administrative offices,\u201d but gave no timetable or firm plans.<\/p>\n \t\tDemolition of building\u2019s rear wall reveals \u201cHome of the Beavers\u201d mural in the school\u2019s gymnasium (LebTown)<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \t\tThe school\u2019s orphaned cornerstone surrounded by demolition rubble. (LebTown)<\/p>\n Catholic education returned<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we\u2019ll do our best to get back to you.<\/p>\n Become a LebTown member.<\/p>\n Cancel anytime.<\/p>\n Still no paywall!<\/p>\n Fewer ads<\/p>\n Exclusive events and emails<\/p>\n All monthly benefits <\/p>\n Most popular option<\/p>\n Make a bigger impact<\/p>\n Join the 1,000+ readers who support our work as members<\/p>\n Already a member? Log in here to hide these messages<\/a><\/p>\n Strong communities need someone keeping an eye on local institutions. LebTown holds leaders accountable, reports on decisions affecting your taxes and schools, and ensures transparency at every level. Support this work with a monthly<\/a> or annual<\/a> membership, or make a one-time contribution<\/a>. Cancel anytime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The end has come for Lebanon Catholic. It stood for 67 years at 1400 Chestnut St., first as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[457,93],"class_list":{"0":"post-64964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lebanon","8":"tag-featuredsecondary","9":"tag-lebanon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116396953726344280","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lebanon-Catholic-Fire-1024x537.jpg\")
Closed Lebanon Catholic School is damaged by arson fire on July 3, 2022. (Lebanon Fire Department)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Donaghmore-Mansion-1024x576.jpg\")
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