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The roots of the current St. Boniface Parish
church and school began with the building of a modest church on Delaney Street,
in 1853, named St. Aloysius. Within the next few years, due mainly to the steady
influx of immigrants, the parish had grown so large that the little church could
no longer accommodate its parishioners. Rather than build a larger church, then
Archbishop Purcell, favored the formation of second parish. On April 6, 1861,
the congregation unanimously resolved that a division be effected along ethnic
lines: German and Irish. It was decided by the drawing of lots that the Irish
would retain the original church property, renaming the parish St. Patrick. The
German community received the sum of $1500.00 to build a new church, St.
Boniface.
In 1862, land was purchased at the corner of
Blue Rock and Lakeman Streets and in November, 1863, the new church was blessed.
Students attended school in the parsonage and by 1867 it was decided that there
was no longer adequate space at the parsonage to accommodate the steady increase
in pupils. The parish purchased additional property adjacent to the church. By
1870, an ornate, solidly constructed, two-story brick building consisting of
four school rooms was erected on Blue Rock Street at a cost of $7,800.00.
By 1885, however, it was necessary to build
an addition consisting of two rooms on the second floor as well as a chapel and
meeting room on the ground floor. In the early 1900’s, another large addition
was made to the school and a residence was built on Lakeman Street for the
Sisters of Charity who taught at the school. The parishes of St. Clare (College
Hill) and St. Pius (South Cumminsville) branched off, and still the parish and
school grew. By 1913, St. Boniface School had 600 pupils and in 1921, the
property at Chase and Pitts was purchased with plans for a new and much larger
church.
The present magnificent church and rectory
were completed in 1927 and the existing school building opened in 1933. In 1979,
the parish school became a combined school with St. Boniface and St. Leo
participating. At this time, the governance of the school shifted from the
parish to the newly formed St. Boniface School Board.
The Sisters of Charity continued to serve
the school until 1999.
Sister Ann Gorman, a Sister of Mercy, is our
current principal.
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