The Catholic bulletin., 1916-01-15
OUR PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

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SKETCH or THEIR ORIGIN AND
DEVELOPMENT IN AMERICA,
EQUAL TO THE BEST IN TEACH
ING SECULAR RHANcHEs--RE
LlGIous TRAINING.
One of the most interesting stories
of achievement In the United States is
that of the growth and development
Of the Catholic Parochial School the
Flower OF the Church. From an
humble beginning~it has assumed the
dimensions of wonderful system
whose influence for good is felt
throughout the length and breadth of
this our land. Not only have Catho-
lies themselves been benefited by the
Catholic school system, but also the
nation, for assuredly to develop the
youth Of the land into Christian men
and women is no small contribution
to the country's welfare and integrity,
writes the Rev. e. A. Purcell in
Extension Magazine
The first traces of an endeavor. to
establish Catholic schools can be
found in the efforts of the early Fran
ciscan and Jesuit missionaries who
recognized the need and usefulness
of schools in their missions. New
Mexico seems to have been the first
territory in which were established
Catholic schools for the natives CA. D.
15S9). The Catholic educational work
in the thirteen colonies dates from, the
arrival of Calvert in Maryland. the
first Catholic school being founded
there in 1910. From that time for
ward history shows energetic at
tempts in various sections of the coun-
try to establish Catholic schools.
But it was not until the beginning
of the nineteenth century that the
Catholic school began to take aggres-
sive root in American soil. The first
authoritative declaration of the
Church in the United States on the
subject of parochial schools emanat-
ed from the First Provincial Council
of Baltimore in 1929, which declared
it to be absolutely necessary that
schools should be established in
which the young may be taught the
principles of Faith and morality, while
being instructed in letters BY 1840
there is record of two hundred parish
schools in the United States. During
the following two decades this num-
ber had multiplied several times, the
greatest growth, of course, being in
the more densely populated sections
of the country, particularly the East.
Watch Them Grow.
The growth can best be judged by
comparative figures. In 1860 there
were probably less than 800 parish
schools in the United States; in 1915,
or within a period of fifty-four years,
the number of schools totaIed 1895.
There are, according to the Cath
olic Directory for 1915, total of a.
961 Catholic churches in the United
States and 5,48S schools. Conse-
quently there are over 5000 parishes
in which there are no Catholic
schools. Most of the SASS Catholic
parochial schools are located in the
large cities and towns. There are
| thousands of small towns where the
Catholic population is insufficient TO
huild and maintain parOchial school
1T is estimated that as a consequence
from twenty-five to thirty per cent of
Catholic children in the United States
attend the district or public schools;
and here we have one reason-and a
very potent one-Why Catholics mani
fest so deep an interest in the public
schools; it explains their insistence
that the public schools stay within
certain limits and that they remain
strictly secular.
This, in fact, has been the inspira-
tion for the building-up of a paro-
chial school system in the United
States Catholic parents realize the
Importance of religious training for
their children. To give them the ben
eft of a Catholic education they have
cheerfully made whatever sacrifices
were necessary In addition to help
ing to maintain the public schools,
they have voluntarily taxed them
selves to build and maintain the Cath
olic schools. While we may smart
under the inequality of double taxa
ton, we feel that the burden we have
assumed in addition to that which the
State imposes, is at the same time a
labor of love.
IL all the Catholic schools in the
United States were abolished tomor-
row, the State would be put to the
necessity of expending over $10O,000,-
900 for buildings alone, while the sal
aries to additional teachers would ex-
coed $SO,O0O,OOO a year. Just by so
much do the Catholics Of the United
States tighten the burden of the tax
payers in the country; and if the sac
rifices they have made and are max
| ing for conscience sake have not
earned for them the respect of those
who dissent from their views, at least
/ the non-Catholic public should be
grateful to them for the double bur-
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