1906
St Charles Catholic School was founded and opened its doors in 1906 under the direction of Archbishop Langevin and the Missionary Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart and Mary Immaculate, a teaching order which he had founded in 1904. It began with one classroom and a staff of four Oblate teachers. The school’s goals at that time were to provide its students with a well-rounded education mirroring the provincial curriculum but including lessons in French, religion, music, choir, drama, arts and sports. Over the years, enrollment continued to increase and the school expanded in 1913 and in 1962 with buildings that are still in use today.
2000
In the fall of 2000, at the direction of the Archdiocese, the control of the school and the ownership of the building was turned over to our five sponsoring parishes: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St John the XXIII, St Charles Church, St Ann’s and St Paul the Apostle parishes. These parishes serve as the owners of the school and the pastors form the Corporate Board. The school’s management Board of Directors is comprised of a Corporate Board representative, an appointed member for each of the five member parishes, an alumni representative, four parent representatives and a representative of the school’s Parent Advisory Committee. The Board meets throughout the school year and must manage and maintain the facilities and staff required for the proper education of all the students attending St Charles Catholic School. Its mandate is to encourage the attainment of high academic standards and further the knowledge and appreciation of the aims and objectives of Catholic education.
2003
In 2003 we felt it was important to establish a Founders’Day “to celebrate the Order of religious who founded our school in 1906 and to reenkindle our mission”.
“Re-founding is going back to our roots, to the charism, mission and spirit of our founders and looking at how we can live these in today’s world.” – Sr. Emma Berard.
Because Archbishop Langevin, Mother St-Viateur and Mother Marie-Joseph lived in faithfulness and trust we are still able to receive a Catholic education at St. Charles. On this day we celebrate their faith, trust and courage and thank God who inspired them to answer His call to meet the needs of the people of St. Charles. We ask them to help us live the motto of our school, “Estote Fideles”, “Be Faithful”.
How We Celebrate
The day begins with a prayer service. A short reflection during the prayer service explains the reason for this celebration as we celebrate our founders.
During the afternoon the teachers will take their classes on a walking tour of our school’s history: down the street to the house which once belonged to the school – Nazareth – serving as a dormitory for the high school girls and for home economics classes; by the river where the old rectory used to be; in the church cemetery to remember and pray for the deceased members of our founding families – Lafleche, Caron, Keough, etc.
This walk down memory lane will hopefully help our students understand better where we come from and appreciate all the sacrifices and dedication that were needed to establish our school which is offering them a Catholic education.