Almost! On November 8, 1922, the people of Oregon voted to pass a popular intitiative banning all private schools in the state. The Oregon Compulsory Education Act required all children ages 8-16 to attend public school, and only public school, as of September 1, 1926. The majority of schools affected were Catholic schools, and that was the intent. The law was mainly the work of Oregon’s Masonic lodges and the Ku Klux Klan (shown here in a rally during this... Read more

Today is the Feast of St. Mutien-Marie Wiaux (1841-1917), a De La Salle Christian Brother. The Institue of the Brothers of the Christian Schools was founded in 1680 by St. John Baptist De La Salle. Born Louis Wiaux in Belgium, he joined the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1858 and took the religious name Mutien in honor of the early martyr. He was assigned to the boarding school at Malonne, where he spent fifty-eight years teaching. Like many new... Read more

On this day in 1887, the first Mass was celebrated at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg section. It was the second Italian parish founded in Brooklyn, the first being Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Carroll Gardens, in 1882. Still a center of Italian American life in Brooklyn, for over a century the parish has hosted the famed Mount Carmel Festival every July. The following article from the Brooklyn Eagle details the origins of the parish: A... Read more

…At least if you attend this school! Since 1908, St. Pancras School has offered a quality Catholic education to children in the Glendale section of Queens, arguably New York City’s last German neighborhood. The current school building went up under Monsignor Herman J. “Doc” Pfeifer, longtime pastor of St. Pancras (1930-1964). In this mosaic, located inside the school, Jesus suffers the little children to come unto Him. Also represented here is a Sister of St. Dominic, whose community ran the... Read more

Today marks the dedication in 1854 of St. Boniface Church, downtown Brooklyn. A participant sent in this account of the church dedication to the Freeman’s Journal, a local Catholic paper: Brooklyn, Feb. 8th, 1854 To the Editors of the New York Freeman’s Journal: Messrs. Editors: In your last weekly number mention is made of the opening on the 29th January of the Catholic Church for the Germans, corner of Willoughby and Bridge Streets, in this city. Perhaps a few words... Read more

Today marks the death of Ambrose Maréchal (1768-1828), third Archbishop of Baltimore. Born in France, he joined the Sulpicians, a community of priests dedicated to seminary work. Ordained in Paris at the height of the French Revolution, he went to America, where he joined the faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. Founded in 1791, St. Mary’s is the oldest seminary in the United States. He also taught at Georgetown College in Washington, D.C. In 1803 he was recalled to... Read more

Today marks the death of Leocadie Gascoin (1818-1900), first Superior General of the Marianites of the Holy Cross, a branch of the community founded by Father Basil Moreau. The Marianites are one of three women’s communities within the Holy Cross family. Born in Montenay, France, she left her parents’ home to join Father Moreau in founding the community. In 1844 she took the name Sister Mary of Seven Dolors. In 1847 Father Moreau sent the Sisters to North America, where... Read more

… Literally! I couldn’t resist adding this one! This 1938 photo from the Universe, a leading English Catholic weekly, shows the Augustinian Recollects of St. Austin’s Priory gathering crops in August 1938. This community was founded in sixteenth century Spain, and the priory was founded in 1932. Read more

A few months ago I was asked to speak on the history of Brooklyn’s Catholic schools to a group of parochial school teachers. What I discovered as I was preparing my talk surprised me. As we all know, this is a tough period for Catholic education in the United States. For Catholics of an older generation than mine (post-Vatican II), it was impossible to imagine schools without nuns or brothers. But the fact is that many of the first Catholic... Read more

Begun in 1858, the Paulists were the first religious community of priests founded in America. Their purpose was (and is) to evangelize America. A hallmark of their charism has been meeting people “where they’re at.” Here’s a good example! During the 1930’s, they outfitted a number trailers as portable chapels, and they traveled into the heartland of American Protestantism, the rural South and Southwest. Talk about evangelization on wheels! Read more