St. John’s Catholic School
St. John’s Catholic School also has a long and venerable history.
Beginning in 1910, the Dominican Sisters from St.Vincent’s in Vallejo taught Sunday School every week to the children of St. John's Parish. The pastor at that time, Fr. Joseph Byrne, was impressed with the Sisters' remarkable influence on the children as well as the adult parishioners, and determined to make every sacrifice to open a parochial school staffed by the Dominican Sisters.
School In A Pool
When Mother Louis was asked to supply teachers for the proposed school, she assured Fr. Byrne that her Sisters would be available after January 1912. The pastor's original plan had been to build the school on the church grounds, but Mother Louis's offer encouraged him to buy the David Young home in August 1911 for around $11,000 in order to be ready for the New Year.
The property occupied almost an entire block facing Third, Franklin and School Streets. The original family residence, a large two-story house facing Third Street, was converted into the Sisters' convent. The building facing Franklin Street had originally been the Young family's private swimming pool, later converted into a hall for public entertainment.
This hall, partitioned into six classrooms, a library, and an office, became the first St John's Catholic School when it opened on January 15, 1912. It is now occupied by the Community Projects people who operate a thrift store and still use the swimming pool area as their storage basement.
The Sisters Arrive
On Saturday, January 13, 1912, the Sisters appointed to the new mission took possession of their convent. Sr. Bemardine Heffernan, the first principal, Sr. Amadeus Remy, and Sr. Alvarez Texeira arrived early in the day, joined later by three newly-professed Sisters, Louise Rourke, Lourdes Hayes, and Bertrand O'Connor. The next morning, a proud pastor introduced his new teachers at Mass in St. John's. On Monday, January 15, 1912, St. John's Catholic School, the first in the Napa Valley, opened with an enrollment of 120 pupils in first through sixth grades.
First Principal
Sr. Bernardine was born Catherine Heffernan in Columbia, California on September 5, 1868. She was the last surviving member of the eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Heffernan, originally of Ireland, who had come to California in the Gold Rush days. The Heffernan family had moved to Napa from Stockton, California, where young Catherine was educated in public schools before entering the convent in 1888. She made her profession on December 31, 1889, only a few months after the Dominican Sisters had established the Motherhouse and schools on Grand Avenue in San Rafael.
Before being chosen by Mother Louis to direct the fortunes of the new St. John's School, Sr. Bemardine taught in San Leandro, Vallejo, and San Francisco, and was formerly the principal of Sacred Heart School in San Francisco.
Whole Town Visits New School
Understandably proud of his achievement, Fr. Byrne began to invite the "whole town" to see "his" school, including the superintendent and several teachers from the public schools. Many parents took the pastor at his word and began to wander into the classrooms, staying, in some cases, for the whole afternoon.
The Dominican Sisters, no novices in the field of education, held their tongues at first, but Sister Bernardine finally had the pastor announce that visits to the school would be confined to Open Days.
In April, the Napa Young Men's Institute (founded by the previous pastor, Fr. Slattery) presented the school with two flags, the State Bear flag and the Stars and Stripes. The raising of the emblems would be St. John's Catholic School's first "Big Event.”
Opening Ceremonies
Sunday, April 14th, was the great day for District Initiation ceremonies. People came from all over the Bay Area, including Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Port Costa, Crockett, and other surrounding towns.
Fr. Byrne was making sure that everyone understood the immensity of the occasion. He invited the Honorable H. C. Gesford of the Superior Court of Napa County to deliver the address. The judge dwelt on the principles of patriotism and "the importance of schools where character-building and religion were stressed as necessary means for developing good citizens."
The arrival of a railroad connecting Napa and Vallejo in 1905 and Napa and St. Helena in 1908 had begun to develop both the city and the county, resulting in a marked increase in population. The new St. John's Catholic School seemed well placed to benefit from its downtown location.
The Torch—or rather, The Debt—Is Passed On
The location of the new St. John’s School seemed ideal: it was in the center of the city on level ground; it was accessible to the population from all points of the compass; and it was adjacent to the new electric railroad.
Unfortunately, the school's pleasant facade hid a number of problems that festered over the years. The school was too far from its mother church and the inconvenience created management problems. It was also expensive to maintain, and the electric railroad did not bring the expected influx of students. Before long, the school had an $11,000 debt that became such a burden for the pastor that his health suffered.
In March 1916, Fr. Byrne was transferred to St. Columba's parish in Oakland, where he died of heart trouble at Providence Hospital on Tuesday, September 9, 1919. He had celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination on February 25, 1917.
Fr. Byrne left a living legacy: the first Catholic School in the Napa Valley. The new pastor, Fr. John R. Cantillon assumed the debt.
With space available beside the church, it was clear that here was the perfect site for a new school building. Father Cantillon worked marvels to reduce the $11,000 debt to the stage where a new building could be considered, but before he could implement his plans, he was asked in 1925 to take charge of St. Philip's Parish in San Francisco.
A New School Is Built
Father Quirke continued the financial policy inaugurated by his predecessor and in a short time saw his way clear to build a new school. The new building contained, on the first floor, five large classrooms, two music rooms, two rest rooms, and an office. There were four separate exits in four different directions. On the second floor, an auditorium was built, and an emergency exit provided by an iron fire escape leading to the yard. Living quarters for the Sisters were also built on this floor, consisting of a kitchen, dining room, chapel, community room, and individual apartments for teaching and visiting Sisters and their housekeeper. A patio provided recreational space for the nuns.
The new school was dedicated on Sunday, December 19, 1926, blessed by Archbishop Edward Hanna of San Francisco, and opened with a full staff of teachers and 171 pupils in January 1927.
On April 21, 1927, the old school building on Third and Franklin was sold to Mr. Edward Flanagan for $7,751.60.
View the school website here.
