ST. PATRICK RELIGIOUS EDUCATION at 71 Central Street, Stoneham, MA 02180 US - History of St. Patrick Religious Education

The weather was clear and bright on the Sunday morning, November 4, 1888 when Archbishop John J. Williams dedicated the new Church of Saint Patrick in Stoneham. In the early times of parish life, Sunday School was held every Sunday afternoon in the church. The classes were taught by the women of the parish and, on occasion, by the priests. In the early 1900's the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary of the Woods were engaged to teach in the Sunday School along with the lay people. St. Patrick Catholic School opened in 1910 and Sunday School remained the same for the public school children. As the parish school system expanded, more nuns continued to join the teaching staff and, eventually, the school and Sunday School were staffed almost exclusively by the Sisters of Providence. When the new elementary school was added in 1958 the Sunday School program became known as CCD( Confraternity of Christian Doctrine).

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