St. Raphael Academy

Saint Raphael Academy (known colloquially as Saint Ray's, or simply, Saints) is a Roman Catholic, coeducational, college preparatory school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA. It was founded in the tradition of Saint John Baptist de Lasalle and rooted in the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.

In 1922, Bishop William Hickey commenced a campaign to raise funds for the expansion of LaSalle as well as the construction of two new Catholic high schools, one in Pawtucket and the other in Newport.

By 1924, Bishop Hickey had raised the required funds and worked with the De La Salle Christian Brothers to open the two new secondary schools. The Pawtucket school was to be established in a large white mansion on Walcott Street that had been purchased from the Goff family for $95,000. An additional $60,000 was required to transform the residential building into appropriate classroom, library, and science lab space.

When Brother Anselm Moore, F.S.C., arrived in Pawtucket in late August 1924, work was just beginning on the transformation. Brother Anselm worked 12-hour days for weeks overseeing the construction and enrolling new students.

On September 10, 1924, the new Catholic high school on Walcott Street opened with 59 students, three faculty members, and an athletic director. On December 12, 1924, 17 pastors, representing the parishes that had students enrolled at the new school, met with Bishop Hickey and agreed that the name of the new institution should be Saint Raphael Academy.

It did not take long for the Academy to outgrow its facilities. Without a gymnasium or proper cafeteria space and faced with an overwhelming number of applications for admission, Brother Ambrose met with Bishop Hickey and in 1927 signed a contract for the construction of a new school building.

On January 1, 1929, the "new Saint Raphael Academy" was opened, featuring a gymnasium, six classrooms, a science lab, and a Principal's Office. In March 1929, nearly 1,000 people joined Bishop Hickey at the blessing the new facility. By the time the new building opened, the student body had grown to one hundred sixty students overseen by eight faculty members.

By the 1970s, the enrollment at Catholic high schools had begun to decline and the condition of the Academy's facilities had deteriorated, forcing the tuition to rise. In September 1975, Brother Jerome Corrigan, Principal, accepted 112 young women from St. Jean Baptiste Academy, which had closed the previous summer. In order to accommodate the added enrollment, Brother Jerome worked out a lease agreement to use the former Saint Joseph's Elementary School.