New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson has donated $5 million to Archbishop Rummel High School, the all-boys Roman Catholic school in Metairie. It is the largest donation in the school’s 60-year history, a Rummel spokesperson said.
The donation, from the Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, will be used to create an endowment to fund Rummel’s tuition assistance program, the school said. Rummel enrolls students in grades 8 through 12 and charges about $8,000 a year for tuition.
Benson said she was “humbled and thrilled” to make the donation.
‘Brings me great joy’
“Young men being able to access Catholic education in our community is vital to the future of this city,” said Benson, a devout Catholic whose late husband attended St. Aloysius School in New Orleans. Rummel’s “Marc Milano has done an exceptional job as head of school, and it brings me great joy to know that this gift is in good hands.”
On Thursday, Archbishop Gregory Aymond celebrated Mass at the school to mark Rummel’s 60th anniversary and commemorate the donation.
“The foundation’s gift establishes an endowment for our school that will help us make Catholic education more accessible to young men,” Milano said.
Over the years, Tom and Gayle Benson have donated to several Catholic educational institutions in New Orleans:
They also gave $7.5 million to Tulane University and $100,000 to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
