Throughout a lifetime of success in the business world, the late Patrick Finbar Cadigan, a Stoneham, Massachusetts native, never missed an opportunity to credit the Jesuits who taught him at Boston College High School (Class of ‘52) and Boston College (Class of ‘57) for defining the underpinnings of a life well lived in the Christian manner: a consistent moral integrity and a discipline of purpose in all things.
In return for their guidance, this son of Irish immigrants, who worked part-time at his father Dennis’s cafe in Cambridge to help pay for his early education and later earned a fortune in high tech and real estate in Southern California, has paid the Jesuits back, and to the nth degree, as they say.
This week, BC High announced that the Patrick F. Cadigan Family Foundation has gifted the school $49 million to build the Patrick F. Cadigan ’52 Wellness Complex, a 50,000-square-foot space that will feature a 6,200-square-foot state-of-the-art strength and conditioning area; a 3,700-square-foot cardio space; a 1,000- square-foot athletic training center; and an eight-lane, 25-meter pool with 1-meter and 3-meter diving boards.
It will also include a flexible classroom space, complete with a wellness kitchen, to help students learn about and incorporate healthy, nutritious foods into their active lifestyles. Construction is anticipated to begin in January 2023.
This grant followed a precedent set for the Jesuits by Mr. Cadigan in 2012 when he gave $12 million to the high school for a new center for arts and recreation and $15 million to Boston College for the Cadigan Alumni Center.
Said BC High President Grace Cotter Regan in making the announcement this week along with Board of Trustees Chair Fr. Rev. Michael McFarland, SJ.: “This gift is not just an investment in a physical space here on campus, but an investment in the formation of generations of young men. We are profoundly grateful for Pat and his family’s enduring commitment to supporting student health and wellness. The Wellness Complex will continue to deepen our approach to relational teaching and learning, enhancing both the philosophical and physical aspects of a Jesuit, Catholic education.”
Added Rev. McFarland: “Pat Cadigan has left an indelible mark on BC High and our students. Ten years ago, he transformed our fine arts program with a gift that enabled BC High to envision and build Cadigan Hall, a space that gives our students the opportunity to express themselves and deepen their relationships and connections with each other and with God. This latest gift will further strengthen the school’s Jesuit mission of forming the whole person, intellectually, socially, physically, and spiritually.”
Mr. Cadigan’s daughter, Maria, who was on hand this week to present the gift to BC High on behalf of the family, said that “Dad felt a strong personal responsibility to give back to the schools that contributed to the man he became and to the success he achieved. He always told me that his time at BC High truly formed him as a person. His Jesuit teachers, and the relationships and fellowship he had with his classmates, were powerful influences on him. They instilled in him the values and discipline needed to be successful in every aspect of both his business and his life.”
Of the new complex, she said: “This is to be an inspiration for those who come from modest means, that you can be anything.”
BC High also received a substantial gift last month from an alumnus that will be used to enhance its campus on Morrissey Boulevard as developers are pushing big plans to rearrange things across the way and on the Columbia Point peninsula: John Murphy donated $2.5 million last month for a new school stadium.
