PAWTUCKET — “Happy 100th,” a greeting which echoed throughout Holy Family Parish Saturday as many gathered to celebrate St. Raphael Academy’s 100th anniversary.
“We’re really excited about today. We were planning this for two years,” said Terry Murray, a retired St. Raphael teacher of 43 years and the co-chair of the committee that oversaw the organization of the 100th anniversary celebrations.
“We’re really excited to share 100 years, with the past, the present and the future,” Murray said.
Mass was celebrated by Archbishop-elect Richard G. Henning, and concelebrated by Father Mark Gadoury, associate pastor at St. Joseph in Woonsocket and chaplain at St. Raphael’s Academy.
In his homily, Archbishop-elect Henning noted Catholic education gives expression in a special way to the reality that God’s plan of salvation takes the form of a cooperation.
“We were made free, we don’t have to respond…but yet the Lord Jesus desires and longs for us to come and partner with Him. This new partnership or relationship [with God]...is now possible to us, if only we can respond in love and trust,” Archbishop-elect Henning continued, adding that this leads people to exemplify the self-sacrificial love that defines the Christian way of life. Catholic schools serve as a prime example of this truth, as they are born out of the efforts of Catholic communities to pool their resources together for the good of the next generation, who in turn become the leaders that help perpetuate progress in their community. It is for this reason that Archbishop-elect Henning noted that Catholic schools serve as a microcosm of the broader partnership between God and creation.
The tight-knit nature of Catholic education is something that was emphasized by many in attendance.
“This seems like a nice, small supportive community,” said Beth Bedard, a geometry teacher in her first year at St. Raphael Academy. She said that what attracted her to the school was the strong sense of community on campus.
“It is clearly a supportive community. They talk about the Saints family, and that’s how it feels.”
“It was a great event, and we’re so thrilled and happy to have Archbishop-elect Henning here,” said Dan Richard, principal of St. Raphael’s Academy. “His words resonated with their entire school community.”
Archbishop-elect Henning blessed a series of medals with the image of St. Raphael the Archangel on them, which were then distributed. After Mass, students presented the Archbishop-elect with a Boston Celtics t-shirt as a token of his time in the Diocese of Providence.
St. Raphael’s Academy, a diocesan high school, was established in 1924 as a part of a series of initiatives on the part of Bishop William A. Hickey to expand upon education in the Diocese of Providence. In its early years, the school had close ties to the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, popularly known as the De La Salle Brothers, an order of religious brothers founded in the early 18th century by the French religious Brother Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, whose charism focused primarily on education. Originally an all-boys school, the school became coed in 1974.
