For 100 years, Gloucester Catholic High School has formed students not only academically, but spiritually and personally – creating a bond among generations that many describe simply as family.
Founded in 1926, the Gloucester City school will mark its centennial this year, culminating with a Centennial Jubilee on March 22 at the Collingswood Ballroom. The celebration invites alumni, families and friends to reflect on a century of faith-filled education and look ahead to the future of a school deeply rooted in Catholic identity.
Few people embody Gloucester Catholic’s history more fully than Tom Iacovone Sr., Class of 1970, whose connection to the school spans nearly six decades – as a student, coach, teacher, alumnus leader and advisory board chair.
“It’s a special place,” Iacovone Sr. said. “Yesterday, I was at a monthly lunch with people from my graduating class, 14-20 people gather monthly. One friend said that he has worked with people for 30-40 years, and he said, ‘I spent only four years with you guys, and I feel closer to you.’ We all felt that way. I have an affinity for the school and the people [here] and how impactful it was on our lives. It has an atmosphere of family, friendship, generosity and welcoming.”
That sense of continuity continues today under the leadership of his son, Thomas Iacovone Jr., the school’s current principal, who credits Gloucester Catholic’s success to a culture shaped by faith and history.
“What makes us different is our family and our culture,” Iacovone Jr. said. “What makes us different is our ability to help these young people realize who they are and … become the best versions of themselves.”
Faith remains central to that mission. Father Peter Gallagher, director of Catholic identity at Gloucester Catholic Jr./Senior High School and parochial vicar of Saint Mary’s Parish, has witnessed a deepening spiritual life among students in his three years there.
“We have seen growth in the students practicing the faith and coming into the faith – being baptized, receiving the sacraments,” Father Gallagher said.
“Catholic identity doesn’t appear out of nowhere,” he added. “I think it’s something that has been bought into by the whole of the institution.”
Alumnus Paul Worthington, Class of 1982, says Gloucester Catholic’s legacy is felt as strongly in relationships as it is in achievements. One of 11 siblings to attend the school, Worthington remembers both its athletic tradition and its deeper sense of care.
“I’m proud of the sports side of it, especially the 1980 baseball team,” Worthington said. “But what lasts is love. They truly love each other. The teachers don’t do it for the money – they do it to pass on what they had gotten from prior generations onto the next generation.”
That spirit of service and belonging continues to draw families to Gloucester Catholic today. Joan Stetser, whose two sons are graduates, said the school’s emphasis on service stood out early on.
“They are known as the school that serves,” Stetser said, a fact confirmed with the recent ordination of her husband, Doug, as a deacon in the Diocese.
The Stetser’s older son, Andrew, Class of 2018, started teaching at Gloucester Catholic in 2023 and currently teaches world history to freshmen and Religion III to juniors.
“I’ve wanted to teach at Gloucester Catholic ever since I was a junior in high school,” he said. “It was my dream job. I had a running joke with one of my former teachers at the time, [that] when I finished my teaching degree, he would retire that same year and I would move into his position. It is funny because that is really how it worked out.”
From its early days – including its first graduating class of 27 students in 1930 and the lasting influence of the Dominican Sisters who served the school for many years – Gloucester Catholic has remained a small school with a lasting impact, alumni and administrators agree. As the community gathers to celebrate its centennial, the focus remains clear: honoring the past while passing forward a faith-filled, family-centered tradition to the next generation.
To learn more about the GCHS centennial and the gala, go to: gchs100.org.
Correspondent Dean Johnson contributed to this report.
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