PROVIDENCE —History was made in the Diocese of Providence in 1984 when LaSalle Academy, St. Mary’s Academy of the Visitation and St. Patrick’s High School merged to create a new co-educational high school on the La Salle campus.
St. Mary’s Academy which operated from 1927 to 1984, was conducted by the Congregation of Notre Dame and housed in a former public school on Cortland St., in the city’s Federal Hill section. The Faithful Companions of Jesus operated St. Patrick’s, opening the high school in 1933 at a site off Smith Street, before moving into the former St. Lawrence School in Centredale in 1969.
When the two all girl’s schools closed, many of their students transferred to La Salle, and now more than a quarter of a century later, have achieved success as educators, lawyers, physicians, artists and in many other careers.
A group of alumnae from the two former high schools is compiling lists of graduates and plans to sponsor liturgical and social events, such as a Mass and reception. The group, which has been meeting since last September, also wants to recognize the young women from St. Patrick’s and St. Mary’s Academy who transferred to La Salle, and graduated in the classes of 1985-87.
“We want to reach out to all of the alumnae of St. Patrick's and St. Mary's and offer La Salle Academy as a central holding location of information to ensure the memory of our high schools is not lost, and to allow anyone access to the contact information for the organization of reunions,” said Linda (Strach) Hanway, a member of St. Patrick’s Class of 1964, who noted that few records exist from that former school.
According to Lillian McIntyre, a member of St. Mary’s Academy Class of 1962, the women who transferred to La Salle arrived with a solid foundation.
“They came formed in the Catholic tradition by the Faithful Companions of Jesus and the Notre Dame sisters, said McIntyre, the interim principal of Msgr. Matthew S. Clarke School, South Kingstown. “They were trailblazers.”
She added that St. Mary’s Academy still has a very active alumni association that supports the missionary activities of the Congregation of Notre Dame.
Both women recalled the effect that a Catholic education had on their personal lives and careers. Hanway serves as executive assistant to Christian Brother Michael Mc Kenery, president of La Salle Academy.
“It was a special time in my life,” she observed.
“What the nuns gave us then is what we are doing in Catholic education today - to form, inform and transform,” said McIntyre, adding that while the former girl’s high schools no longer exist physically, they have left a rich legacy.
The alumnae group meets monthly at La Salle Academy. For more information, call Hanway at 351-7750, ext, 138; or e-mail: lhanway@lasalle-academy.org.
