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Blessed Sacrament School opened in September, 1948,
consisting of one Kindergarten under the direction of Mrs. Swistak,
a first grade and a second grade taught by Sisters Carina and
Theophane who commuted from St. Patrick's convent on Rutledge
Avenue. In succeeding years, students who progressed into grades not
yet established at Blessed Sacrament went to St. Patrick's School.
On August 28, 1951, a convent was opened on St.
Teresa Drive which meant that the Sisters of Saints Cyril and
Methodius would not have the daily commute from the peninsular city.
Grades 3 and 4 were added to the school as well as an additional
first-grade classroom for the 1951-52 school year.
On June 15, 1952, ground was broken for a new school
building by His Excellency John H. Russell, Bishop of the Diocese of
Charleston. This would become the complex facing Savannah Highway,
adding five more classrooms. The second floor was designed as a
convent for 18 Sisters and opened in August, 1953. That same year,
the school expanded to include grades K through 6.
In 1954, an addition to the growing school became
imperative, but money was something of a problem. The men of the
parish pitched in after-work hours and on weekends, thus cutting the
construction cost by 60 per cent. This annex allowed the addition of
Grades 7 and 8 for the 1954-55 academic year, thus providing Blessed
Sacrament School its first graduating class in June of 1955. The
graduates numbered 23 students, including Joseph Francis Hanley,
Jr., the parish's current pastor.
In the spring of 1959, the Church of Nativity was formed
to serve Folly Beach, James Island and Johns Island. Construction of
the Blessed Sacrament Church began on June 1, 1962. The new church
was first used on Christmas Day, 1963 and dedicated on May 13, 1965.
Monsignor McCarthy died in 1966; and, in order for his remains to be
buried in the churchyard, the City of Charleston rescinded a ban
against burial in the city for one day. The parish hall was named
Father McCarthy Hall in his honor.
Rev. Leon Hubacz became the parish's second pastor and,
also in 1966, St. Joseph Parish was formed. During Rev. Nicholas
Bayard's (the third pastor) administration, the mortgage was
retired. Rev. St. John E. Patat became the fourth pastor and, on
Corpus Christi Sunday in 1984, the parishioners of Blessed Sacrament
and St. Joseph parishes initiated Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament. Rev. Robert J. Kelly served as pastor for four years and
was succeeded by Rev. Msgr. J. Fleming McManus in June 1989. Rev.
Joseph F. Hanley Jr., our pastor, returned to Blessed Sacrament
Parish, where he had grown up, in June of 1995.
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