Former Catholic academy in Unity could see rebirth as nature preserve

It’s been 50 years since Susan Scherff was standing in the grove outside St. Xavier Academy, huddled with the rest of the evacuated students as they watched black smoke billowing from the burning convent and chapel attached to the Catholic school in Unity.

“Then it started to rain,” she recalled. “It was in the middle of March, so it was cold, and we had no coats on.”

Eventually, the students took shelter in Bellbrook, a large red brick building nearby that was used as a retreat by the Sisters of Mercy, who had operated the academy since the 1840s.

Scherff of Hempfield was a St. Xavier sophomore at the time, part of a class of only seven students.

“I was there for only two years,” Scherff said, but she was among students who boarded at the large academy building, sharing a third-floor room with another female student during the week and heading home on weekends.

Though the flames didn’t reach Scherff’s dormitory room, she said, “Everything reeked of smoke and had to be cleaned.”

Bellbrook is the sole remaining building on the property off Route 30 — across from the Wimmerton housing development — since the academy and convent were demolished after the March 16, 1972, fire that damaged them.

A blue state historical marker at Route 30 and St. Xavier’s Road informs passersby that the academy was the oldest institution of the Sisters of Mercy, a religious group of women who came to America from Ireland in 1843 aiming to serve the sick and needy. The group, whose members have served as nurses and teachers, also founded the Pittsburgh area institutions that would become UPMC Mercy hospital and Carlow University.

St. Xavier got its start as Mt. St. Vincent’s Young Ladies Academy on the nearby site of today’s Saint Vincent College. It opened in 1845 in a two-story, 12-room brick house made available by the Rev. Michael Gallagher and graduated its first class of 16 students in August 1846.

The academy grounds began with 108 acres of farmland donated by early Catholic settler Henry Kuhn. It grew over the years with additional property obtained from the Boyd, Geiger-McCaffrey and Miller-Steele farms.

The first version of the main academy building, a three-story brick structure, welcomed students in 1847 but was gutted by flames in 1868. A new school stood in its place two years later and gained additions in subsequent decades. In 1928, it was joined by a hall for boarding boys in grades 1-8.

After the 1972 fire, St. Xavier students finished the school year farther west along Route 30 — at St. Joseph’s Hall, now known as Christ Our Shepherd Center. Retired nuns who had lived in the convent were welcomed at the Sisters of Mercy motherhouse in Pittsburgh or moved to another convent. Those who were infirm were taken in temporarily by the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in Greensburg.

Scherff completed her high school education in Hempfield Area School District.

Even before the fire, Scherff wasn’t expecting to graduate from St. Xavier because of declining enrollment. “The school was going through a transition at that time,” she said. “They had anticipated closing the high school part for grades 9-12.” A hallway served as a dividing line between separate areas designated for high school and elementary students, she said.

The academy’s outdoor gathering space, known as “the grove,” was popular with St. Xavier students.

“There were walkways and statues,” Scherff recalled. “The graduating class would plant a tree every year. After class, we would go for walks. It was a beautiful campus.”

At least one statue remains. A solitary figure of Mary, it might have been the one that figured in May Crowning ceremonies Scherff can recall. “Everyone would dress up in gowns, and they would vote on the May queen, who would place the crown of flowers on Mary,” she said.

Another spring tradition at St. Xavier was a balloon Mass. Scherff said the students would go to the grove to release balloons filled with helium and bearing messages.

The multi-section academy building faced Route 30 at the end of a drive and featured a large wrap-around porch, Scherff said.

“I’m sorry it’s gone,” said Rosanne Henigin of Blairsville. She attended St. Xavier throughout her high school years, boarding on the dormitory floor and graduating in 1971 in a class of 19.

“Some of the things in there were beautiful,” said Henigin, among select students who attended St. Xavier on a scholarship, based on a qualifying exam. “They had a great library and music rooms with grand pianos in them.”

“What I learned there was really top-notch,” said Henigin, whose favorite classes included French. “I tested out of at a least a year of French in college.”

In addition to the grove, the grounds included a secluded grotto featuring another image of Mary. Some fellow students went there to surreptitiously smoke cigarettes, but Henigin said, “I was afraid to try it.”

Much of the St. Xavier property is posted to keep out trespassers, and it’s been a few years since its fields were farmed by the local Firestone family that sells seasonal produce along Route 30 just east of St. Xavier’s Road.

But, if all goes as planned, the public eventually will be invited to discover the terrain that once was traversed by students and nuns.

The Westmoreland Land Trust has an agreement to acquire about 250 acres of the property from the Sisters of Mercy, assisted by a $1.1 million grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

“Our plan is to conserve it as a sanctuary and preserve with public access for the enjoyment of nature,” said Betsy Aiken, executive director of the Land Trust. “We are working through all of the due diligence required for completion of the acquisition.

“We anticipate establishing some trails and walkways and interpretive materials in the former campus area. There are farm roads in other parts of the property that will be retained as walking trails.”

Aiken said the Land Trust hopes to plant vegetation to bolster protective borders along a 6,000-foot section of Monastery Run that crosses the property.

A new use for Bellbrook has yet to be determined. But, Aiken said, “Our hope is to continue operation of the farmstand area along Route 30.”

The Sisters of Mercy will retain ownership of the adjacent cemetery, where many of their members are laid to rest. They include six of the original seven women from Carlow, Ireland, who founded the order in America in the mid 19th century, and some who served as nurses during the Civil War.

“We’re still like a family, like a sisterhood,” said Scherff, who helps administer a Facebook group for St. Xavier alumni. Former St. Xavier students have gathered regularly for reunions. The next one is set for April 30 at Ferrante’s Lakeview restaurant and banquet facility in Hempfield.

“It doesn’t matter what year you were there. You have that kinship,” said Scherff.