COAL TOWNSHIP - Father J. Quinlan, secretary for education of the Diocese of Harrisburg, announced that Deacon Martin McCarthy was appointed by Bishop P. McFadden as the executive director and secondary principal of Lourdes Regional Catholic School. The appointment is effective for the 2011-2012 school year.
A 20-year education veteran, McCarthy is currently serving as dean of students for the secondary program at the school. He has been associated with Catholic education in Northumberland County since 1991, when he was a social studies teacher at Lourdes Regional High School. From 2001 to 2007, he was principal of St. Monica's School in Sunbury.
McCarthy received his undergraduate degree in political science from Temple University, a master's degree in public administration from Shippensburg University and his teaching and principal certification from Susquehanna University and Bucknell University, respectively. He was ordained a deacon for the Diocese of Harrisburg in May 2010.
"I always wanted to be the principal of Lourdes and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the students and families of Our Lady of Lourdes school community," said McCarthy.
Sister Margaret McCullough, IHM, served as elementary school principal at Lourdes since 2006 and has been transferred to a school in northern Virginia by her religious community. David Becker, secondary principal at Our Lady of Lourdes, is retiring from his position at the end of the current school year. Sister Margaret Ann Quinn, IHM, will return to the diocese to take over McCullough's duties.