For nearly 100 years, Barbelin/Lonergan Hall’s gothic tower has perched atop Hawk Hill as a symbol of St. Joe’s. Now wrapped in scaffolding, Barbelin — affectionately known as “Barb” —  is undergoing a significant renovation in its nearly century-long lifespan. 

The current renovation to Barbelin’s stone and structure is phase two of four and includes roof work and repair of mortar and caulk joints, wrote Kevin Mueller, MBA ’22, senior director of construction and planning, in an email to The Hawk. 

“The main reason for the renovation is to replace what is believed to be the original, almost 100-year-old slate roof,” Mueller said. “The roof is beyond its service life, and complete replacement is a proactive approach rather than temporary patches or repairs.” 

To ensure the roof would match what it would have looked like when originally constructed, Mueller said the construction and planning team worked with a design professional who specializes in historic preservation. The team also consulted Carmen Croce ’71, university relations liaison and “unofficial campus historian for archived photos and blueprints,” Mueller said.

Building Barbelin

Barbelin Hall was built in the collegiate gothic architecture style typical of the early twentieth century, which is characterized by pointed arches, crenellated parapets and sculptural elements like gargoyles, stained glass and towers, according to Croce. This style of architecture was meant to symbolize upper-class intellectual life in England, as seen in the style of universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, Croce said. 

“They were trying to build a signature building,” Croce said. “It was supposed to be a premier building.”

Leaders of the old St. Joseph’s College planned the construction of Barbelin Hall for years. In September 1922, Matthew Fortier, S.J., organized a campaign to raise funding for building a new campus. The goal of $1 million was exceeded, and the funds were used to purchase the land where Barbelin Hall now stands. 

Construction of the building took place between 1925 and 1927. It was built by John McShain, who “graduated from Saint Joseph’s College (lower form) in 1918 and is an honorary member of the class of 1922 (upper form).” McShain later worked on iconic landmarks, including the Jefferson Memorial and the Pentagon, and helped rebuild the White House in 1948. 

Barbelin Hall was constructed with Wissahickon schist, a type of rock found primarily in the greater Philadelphia region. Schist is a type of metamorphic rock, and unlike regular schist, Wissahickon schist has more mica, which is what makes certain parts of the stone “shiny” in the sunlight, Croce said. 

Working with this kind of material requires specialized knowledge, and, according to Mueller, the masonry contractor for the current renovation project has “extensive experience” working with the material used in the original construction of the building. 

The Jesuit behind the building

On Nov. 13 1927, the building was officially dedicated to Felix-Joseph Barbelin, S.J., the first president and founder of Saint Joseph’s College in 1851, now Saint Joseph’s University. Barbelin was a pastor at St. Joseph’s Church from 1844 until his death in 1869 and was the longest serving pastor in the church’s history. 

During his time at St. Joseph’s Church, Barbelin dedicated himself to helping others, most notably founding St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Lesley Carey, St. Joe’s archivist, read and digitized translated letters Barbelin wrote to his sister in France, among other records of his philanthropic work in Philadelphia. 

“He was a very accomplished person,” Carey said. “I’m pro

foundly moved by examples of philanthropy, and he was really a philanthropist. He cared about a number of things: about education, about hospital care, about all this stuff.”

Barbelin is not the only figure memorialized by the building. In 1933, a new annex was dedicated to John E. Lonergan, head of the John E. Lonergan Company and a friend of Albert G. Brown, S.J., who was president of Saint Joseph’s College from 1921 to 1927. An admirer of the Jesuits, Lonergan donated a large sum of money to the university, which was used to build a new addition to Barbelin Hall. The addition was dedicated to Lonergan posthumously. 

The Barbelin and Lonergan renovation has been planned over four phases/years, the first of which was completed in 2024, according to Mueller, with the replacement of the Lonergan portion of the building. Work on Barbelin’s new slate roof is expected to be complete over Winter Break, with landscaping and planting planned for the spring.