Holy Family Church & School

Holy Family Church and School. . On February 5, 1920, a group of nuns from the missionary Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family (one of three orders of African American nuns in the U.S.) arrived from New Orleans to serve the new mission in Apalachicola. In 1922, the Sisters were commissioned to open the Holy Family convent and school. , ‐ , ‐ , . In 1917, Mercy Paige, a Black resident of Apalachicola, wrote a letter to Bishop Patrick Allen in Mobile Alabama requesting that he establish a mission in Apalachicola for Black people because "the field of souls in the area was ripe for the harvest." , , Consequently, Sister Sacred Heart, Mother Superior in New Orleans, selected the name for the Apalachicola parish - Holy Family. She appointed Sister M. Sebastian, Superior of the nuns in Apalachicola. Sister Sebastian, Sister M. Josephine, and Sister M. Barbara arrived in Apalachicola on February 5, 1920. The nuns first used a 1907 fourteen-room, two story home (Minnie Barefield Mansion) located on the property as the original convent-school. The Holy Family building that exists on the site today was constructed in 1928. , , By 1925, there were eighty-five students enrolled in the school. Reverend Thomas H. Massey became pastor at Holy Family in 1926. The increasing enrollments of students supported the need for a school dedicated to this work. , , The Sisters and Father Massey made it possible for a school to be built and on August 28, 1928, Bishop Toolen dedicated the new school building. The building housed four large classrooms, and an auditorium which was used as a parish church. In 1943 when Holy Family Mission celebrated its Silver Jubilee, there were 125 pupils enrolled in the school with four teachers. There were two grades in each of the four classrooms. , , Sister Mary Barbara served the children and residents for 32 years and she was the Superior for the nuns during most of her time in Apalachicola. Father Massey served the people of Apalachicola for 25 years. During his time at Holy Family, he baptized 212 people. The Sisters of the Holy Family served the people of Apalachicola from 1920 until the closing of the mission in 1968. Over the years, hundreds of children were taught by the Sisters. Today, the corridors of the building contain many black and white photos of the children, the nuns, and the school activities. , , Black parishioners continued to attend mass at the Holy Family Catholic Church until 1987. In 1974 Father Hugh E. Dolan sold the Holy Family convent to Eldon and Ruth Schoelles for $16,000. The convent was moved to a site on the bay between Apalachicola and Port St. Joe. , , In 2004, the City of Apalachicola obtained the building from the Diocese. Grant funds helped renovate the building which opened in 2012 to serve the people of Apalachicola as a Senior Citizen Center. , Read more about the people and places of Apalachicola's Black History Trail by scanning the QR code above or by visiting cilyotapalachicola.com