Ambria Hammel | Feb. 6, 2013 | The Catholic Sun
LITCHFIELD PARK — Schools teach children to dream about their future and then equip them to pursue it. Students at St. John Vianney have a tangible example of what it means to “Reach for the Stars.” Their school, which opened 20 years ago last fall, was once a reachable dream of then-principal Fr. Joe Corpora., a Holy Cross priest now serving at the University of Notre Dame.
A diocesan school hadn’t been built in more than 30 years, but Fr. Corpoora managed to gather the necessary support to open a preschool in 1992, lead it for 10 years, grow it to a full-fledged elementary and leave it debt-free and with a firm endowment. School supporters strengthened that endowment, saluted its founder and celebrated student success during a “Reach for the Stars” benefit dinner and auction Feb. 1 at the Wigwam Resort.