National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education. This year it ran from the last Sunday in January, the 26th, until the following Saturday, the 1st of February. Schools observed the week with daily themes, honoring those who make Catholic schools succeed.
Today, the Cleveland Diocese has 108 schools, with 39,720 students, and is the 6th largest Catholic school system in the nation. In 1878, the Diocese of Cleveland instituted annual reports for the parishes. Those annual reports included data on their Catholic schools.
There were 11 parishes reporting in 1878 and the Diocese had 4,633 students. Those students were primarily taught by nuns. The Sisters of St. Joseph were welcomed to the Diocese in 1872 and the Sisters of Notre Dame were welcomed in 1874.
The Ursuline Academy was established in 1877. Those sisters comprised the majority of 73 teachers in Cleveland’s Catholic schools, one teacher for every 63.5 students.
Cleveland Catholic Schools 1878
The Cathedral of St. John had 176 First Communions and baptisms, included 298 children and six adults. St. John’s performed 65 marriages that year. There was not a register of deaths.
The school employed 14 teachers, of which five were males and nine were females. That included seven Ursuline Sisters, five Brothers of Mary and two “ladies.”
The enrollment was 1,143, comprised of 573 boys and 570 girls. Father Thorpe reported about a dozen children in the parish attended public schools, which he attributed to “bad parents.”
St. Augustine’s reported 46 First Communions, and 60 baptisms were performed, including four adults. Father John O’Conner celebrated five marriages and recorded 12 deaths.
Its school had four teachers, all Sisters of St. Joseph, for 200 enrolled students. There were five boys and four girls in the parish who attended public schools. Father believed that was due their parents being “bad Catholics.”
St. Bridget’s performed 35 First Communions, and 81 children and three adults were baptized. Father William McMahon performed 16 marriages and 15 funerals.
The school had 182 students, 80 boys and 102 girls. They were instructed by three teachers, one male and two Ursuline Sisters. There were 18 children in the parish who attended public schools, “Some of the children of mixed marriages & others of indifferent Catholics, and two think it better.”
St. Mary’s of the Holy Rosary, which would be renamed Holy Name, witnessed 102 First Communions. Five adults and 148 children were baptized. Father Joseph Gallagher performed 11 marriages and no deaths were listed.
St. Columba’s School, named after one the patron saints of Ireland, was staffed with eight teachers, seven were “Ladies of the Sacred Heart of Mary,” for 689 pupils. There were no parish youth listed as public school students.
St. Malachi’s had 127 First Communions and 195 children baptized. Father James Maloney performed 11 marriages and denoted 93 deaths. The school was staffed with nine teachers, two were male and seven were female. That included four Ursuline Sisters and five “secular.”
Enrollment was 700 pupils, 288 boys and 412 girls. Only one or two parish kids attended public school and there was no causality noted.
Annunciation listed the First Communion of 28 children and three adults. There were 65 children baptized. Father Augustine Gerardin celebrated 14 marriages and there were no deaths or funerals listed in the report.
The school had 201 students who were instructed by three teachers. No information was provided as to teacher affiliation. Similarly, no public school attendance numbers were included.
St. Mary’s of the Assumption had 62 children receive their First Communion. 128 children and two adults were baptized. Father Stephen Falk celebrated 22 marriages, three were noted as “mixed.” There were 64 deaths reported.
The school enrolled 450 students, 250 boys and 200 girls. Six teachers were on staff, three males from the Community of St. Mary’s in Dayton and three Ursuline Sisters. Six kids attended public school. That was attributed to “the parents are bad Cath, (or) of mixed marriages.”
St. Patrick’s (soon to be) on Bridge did not include First Communion data. It did baptize 200 children, including eight from ages 13-18. Father Eugene O’Callaghan performed 40 marriages, and there were 111 deaths in the parish.
Ten teachers, three Brothers of Mary and seven females, including four Ursuline Sisters, were employed for 825 pupils, 390 boys and 435 girls. 20 parish kids attended public schools, which was attributed to the distance to the school, but those who lived closer didn’t attend due to “pride and vanity.”
St. Peter’s witnessed 51 First Communions, 29 boys and 22 girls. Father Francis Westerholt baptized 131 children and celebrated 16 marriages. They reported noted 36 deaths.
The school 386 students enrolled, who were instructed by six teachers, three Brothers of Mary and three Sisters of Notre Dame. “3 or 4” kids went to public school and that was due to “mixed marriage or indifferent Catholics.”
St. Prokop’s listed 34 children receiving their First Communion. 91 children and 3 adults were baptized in the parish. Six marriages were celebrated by Father Joseph Koudelka and 12 deaths were reported.
Two Sisters from the Community of Notre Dame taught 189 pupils, 87 boys and 102 girls. The “many going to Public Schools” were determined to be bad Catholics.
St. Stephen’s had 60 First Communions and baptized 99 children and 2 adults. Father Casimir Reichlin performed 18 marriages and denoted 29 deaths.
The school enrolled 367 students. There were five teachers, one male and four Notre Dame Sisters. Ten children attended public schools as a result of “mixed marriages.”
St. Wenceslas’s reported First Communions for 66 children. 31 were from the parish and 35 were “nonmembers or infidels.” 164 children were baptized who were from church families. 174 children of “freethinkers”, including 4 pairs of twins and one of the 5th pair, were also baptized.
33 marriages were celebrated by Father Anthony Hynek and there were 99 deaths listed. 326 students were enrolled in the school. Three teachers were employed, one male and two Sisters of St. Joseph. Those who attended public school did so, “because they have to for hither.”
Old School
The Diocese was just 30 years old in 1878. Just to put things in context, that was the year the Superior Street Viaduct opened. Cleveland’s population was 92,829 in 1870 and grew to 160,146 in 1880, 12th largest in the country. The Cleveland Telephone Co. began service in 1880.
As Cleveland grew, so did the Catholic schools, as well as the quality of education. We have the opportunity to continue this legacy.
Bluestone Charities held their Scholarship Raffle on February 1st, the conclusion of Catholic Schools week this year. Most Catholic schools, and the Diocese, have Scholarship Granting Organizations.
Bluestone Charities is also an SGO. Donations to any of these SGO’s may be eligible for a non-fundable tax credit, both individual and household. Catholic Schools Week has passed, but donations before April 15,2025 can be claimed when filing.
