In 1887, Father Joseph Gallagher, the pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Roxbury, asked the Congregation for Sisters to staff his school. Seven Sisters responded to this call to educate girls from grades one to 12. Thus began the Congregation's return to the United States and the beginning of our service to immigrant children in the heart of the inner city of Boston.

Over the many years, countless Sisters of Charity were missioned to St. Patrick and were prepared "to meet their grace in every circumstance of their lives." The Sisters' joyful witness to love, commitment to academic excellence and Christian values made an impact on the lives of the students they taught. The alumni of St. Patrick School are a testament to that.

In its almost 130-year history, St. Patrick School has responded to changing times and needs of immigrant families. In 1950, boys were added to the enrollment in the elementary school. The high school closed in 1979 and the elementary school moved into this building, built in 1930. The 1887 building was demolished to make way for a playground.

In the 1980s, the school began an after-school program and opened a kindergarten program for five-year-olds. The '90s saw the addition of a program for four-year-olds, and four years after, a program for three-year-olds. Two years later, with help from alumni, the school opened an extended-day program for grades seven and eight.

Most of our students came from single-parent homes. Working mothers needed a safe, caring, extended-day program for their children. Sister Maureen Beale and Sister Barbara Gorham had a program where parents could drop off their children at 6:40 a.m. to be cared for until they went to their classes at 7:20 a.m. After-school activities included snacks, monitored homework time, outdoor physical activity, and creative outlets such as book club, arts and crafts, yoga and chess.

We delighted in having such a spirit-filled program that allowed us to continue our ministry at St. Patrick, Roxbury, for so many years.