The Luke Callaghan Memorial School

When I visited Luke Callaghan Memorial School in the fall of 1998 it had already been closed as a school; the building is just a block from St. Michael's Church. At the time I visited it was the location of various art and public service organizations. It had been an English-language school in the Catholic School Board of Montreal; it closed (like many other English-language schools in Montreal) due to a decline in student numbers caused by the Quebec government, the children of immigrants had to enroll in the French sector schools. Luke Callaghan was the priest who oversaw the building of St. Michael's Church and then he was the pastor at the church until his death in 1931. Luke Callaghan is my great, great uncle. There is more on him and his two brother on other pages of this blog, or click on www.morrisseyfamilyhistory.com.

Luke Callaghan Memorial School in 2009

Luke Callaghan Memorial School in 1927

Graduating class from Luke Callaghan Memorial School, 1930s, copied from Facebook

Graduating class from Luke Callaghan Memorial School, 1930s, copied from Facebook


Below: that's St. Michael's Church (on St. Viateur West), just a block away on Clarke Street, as seen from the Luke Callaghan Memorial School.

View of St. Michael's Church from Luke Callaghan Memorial School

Possibly Clarke Street, near Luke Callaghan Memorial Church

Luke Callaghan Memorial School

Luke Callaghan Memorial School

Luke Callaghan Memorial School

The following, from  http://memoire.mile-end.qc.ca/fr/ecole-luke-callaghan/ website, is of interest:

Luke Callaghan School, originally named St. Michael's, was the school for the Irish Catholic community in Mile End. Opened in 1907, it was initially located on rue Boucher, at the corner of rue Drolet. The Sisters of Saint Anne teach the girls and the Marist Brothers, the boys.

After the construction in 1915 of the new St. Michael 's Church at its current location, rue Saint-Viateur Ouest, the school moved in turn. Classes were first held in rented stores on rue Saint-Viateur until the opening in 1922 of the current building, located on rue Clark, between Saint-Viateur and Bernard. The Sisters of Saint Anne still teach girls there, who use a separate entrance. After the withdrawal of the Marist Brothers in June 1925, the parish priest, Luke Callaghan, entrusted the teaching of the boys to a community from Ireland, the Presentation Brothers. The school was renamed Luke Callaghan Memorial after the priest's death in 1931.

The departure of the Irish population from Mile End during the 1950s and 1960s led to a transformation of the school clientele. The secondary level moved to the new Pie ​​X school, located in Ahuntsic, in 1960. The Presentation Brothers left the premises in 1968, because the children of the Italian community in the neighborhood replaced the Irish. The strong Italian immigration of the 1950s and the baby boom meant that the school was quickly overcrowded. Classes must be transferred to French schools in the neighborhood, but they do not meet demand. This situation led to demonstrations against the management of the English sector of the Catholic school board by Italian parents during the spring and summer of 1968.

But the Italian community in turn deserted the Mile End for the suburbs; in addition, the Charter of the French language (law 101), promulgated in 1978, ensures that the children of immigrants now go to French school. During the 1980s, it was the neighboring primary school, Lambert-Closse , which would become the multi-ethnic school in the district. The Luke Callaghan school was empty, and when in 1983 the number of pupils fell below the 200 threshold, the English sector of the Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal (CÉCM) decided to transfer them to the Nazareth school , located on rue Jeanne-Mance, between Laurier Avenue and Saint-Joseph Boulevard. A petition of 600 names, which denounces the influence on children of pornography present in bars and cinemas of the adjacent avenue du Parc, does nothing about it.

The building now houses an Early Childhood Center (CPE) and the Educational and Pedagogical Resource Center, which offers training for adults. The facade of the building, at risk of losing bricks, has been covered with a net since 2015 pending restoration.

Father James Callaghan

 

Photographs of Fr. James Callaghan, Notman photograph, archived at McCord Museum, Montreal

Father James Callaghan

Father Martin's next younger brother is Father James Callaghan. After completing his grade school studies with the Freres des Ecoles chretiennes, James Callaghan (born Montreal, 18 October 1850) studied classics at the College de Montreal (1864-1872). He also studied at the Grand Seminaire de Montreal from 1872-1875, and he completed his studies at the Seminaire Saint-Sulpice de Paris in 1875-1876. After Father James entered the Sulpician Order all of his studies for the priesthood were conducted in France. He became officially a member of the Sulpician Order when he was ordained a priest on 26 May 1877 in Paris. Returning to Montreal, he was the vicar at St. Ann's Church in Griffintown from 1877-1880; this church was demolished in the 1970s but in the late 1990s the foundation was excavated by the City of Montreal and the triangular lot on which the church was located was made into Griffintown-St. Ann's Park. While at St. Ann's Father James lived in the church presbytery at 32 Basin Street in Griffintown. Father James also worked as a professor of English at the College de Montreal (1880-1881). He was a vicar at St. Patrick's (1881-1896) during which time he and his brother Father Martin lived at 95 St. Alexander Street, later they moved to 92 St. Alexander in 1887; 770 Dorchester Street in 1891.

St. Ann's Church, Griffintown, Montreal

Interior of St. Ann's Church, 1954

Interior of St. Ann`s Church

St. Ann's Church, Griffintown,  
demolished in 1970


Two photographs of St. Patrick`s Church

This is a plaque dedicated to Fr. James Callaghan
now stored in the basement of St. Patrick's (Basilica)
where he officiated with his brother Fr. Martin Callaghan. 
Photo takes in 1995, pictured with the plaque is my son.

Father James was professor of ecclesiastical studies at the Grand Seminary of Baltimore, Maryland (1896-1897), and in his last years he served as the chaplain at Hotel Dieu Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital (1897-1900). He died of kidney failure at Hotel-Dieu Hospital on 7 February 1901, age 51 years. He is described in a church biography as having a beautiful soul, as being innocent and open to other people, full of spontaneity, and as a man who is not guarded or calculating.

Biography of Father Luke Callaghan

A photograph of Father Luke Callaghan of St. Michael's Church, Montreal; 

for more information on Father Luke, go to http://www.morrisseyfamilyhistory.com/.

Father Luke Callaghan

Father Luke Callaghan was considerably younger than his two older brothers (Fr. Martin and Fr. James) who served as priests. He was born on 2 February 1865 in Montreal. He studied at the College de Montreal from 1877-1884, and then at the Grand Seminaire to 1889 where he studied philosophy and theology. After having been ordained he was chaplain at L'Hotel Dieu Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital. In 1895 he left for Rome where he earned a doctorate in theology from Urban University. In 1898 he was assistant Chancellor at the Archbishop's Palace which is situated on De La Gauchetiere and he resided at 873 De La Gauchetiere. In 1903 he served at St. Patrick's, under his brother Father Martin Callaghan. Father Luke remained at St. Patrick's until at least 1907, when he returned to Rome to continue his studies. In September 1904, Father Luke had the honour of delivering the first sermon ever given in English at Notre Dame Basilica.

In 1907 he returned to his position as Vice Chancellor at the Archbishop's Palace, residing at 471 De La Gauchetiere West.

From 1910-1931 Father Luke was the parish priest at St. Michael's Church and lived at 1634 St. Denis. Money for the building of St. Michael's Church was raised by Father Luke and came largely from Irish parishoners who moved from Griffintown to this area of Montreal, the area of St. Viateur Street, St. Denis Street, and Clarke Street. Father Luke proved to be both an excellent administrator and beloved priest. A landmark in Montreal, the impressive St. Michael's is constructed in the Byzantine style of architecture, modelled on the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Constantinople. Father Luke Callaghan died 12 April 1931 at the age of sixty-three years.

Crypt at Le Grand Seminaire, April 1998

This is the crypt at Le Grand Seminaire of the Sulpician Order, Atwater and Sherbrooke Street West, here in Montreal. My great great uncle, Father Martin Callaghan, is buried here, as well as his brother Father James Callaghan. Remains are disinterred after fifty years and then deposited in a small box seen in the bottom two photographs.

At Le Grand Seminaire, corner Atwater and Sherbrooke (one)

These are photographs (above) of the twin towers at the Grand Seminaire, which is located on Sherbrooke Street West near Atwater Street; the Grand Seminaire is a teaching institute run by the Sulpician Order in Montreal. I took these photographs a few years ago, and other photographs I have taken of the Grand Seminaire are on this site. The towers, built in the early 1600s, are at the top of Fort Street and Tower Street in Montreal, and were used for protection when French settlers were attacked by Amerindians. There is a narrow slit in the stone walls from which a rifle could be placed. I am interested in the Sulpicians because three of my great great uncles were students here and in France, and then, later, became priests serving parishes in Montreal. They were among the very few English-speaking students at the Grand Seminaire, and Father Martin Callaghan and his brother Father James Callaghan are both buried in the crypt in the basement of the Seminary. Only last week we attended a "light show" presented at the Basilique Notre Dame, in Old Montreal, and saw a history of the Sulpicians in Montreal. The Sulpicians once owned the entire Island of Montreal, from when the tiny settlement was called Ville Marie (City of Mary), through the time of the English Conquest, to modern times and the radical decline of the influence of the Roman Catholic church in all of Quebec. I recommend this presentation at Notre Dame to anyone who is interested in these things and who is visiting Montreal. It can be seen in only a half hour or so, and it is incredibly well done. The other Callaghan brother, Father Luke Callaghan, is buried at Cote des Neiges Cemetery, a cemetery that is owned by the Sulpicians. A few years ago, I went on a tour of the other Seminary, next door to the Basilique Notre Dame in Old Montreal (not the buildings shown here) and I'll post these photographs one day. This tour was organized by my cousin Sharon Callaghan. I remember thinking, at both locations, that I could easily stay living there the rest of my life, I felt so much at home in either location. And since I am both English-speaking and not a Catholic this is quite something! I think the Sulpicians made a very nice life for themselves, not one of struggling and penance, but one of teaching, apparent affluence (but not ostentation), and a life of devotion to the beliefs of the Church. Below are some photographs of the entrance to the Grand Seminaire and the grounds of the property. Adjacent to the Grand Seminaire, on east side, is the College de Montreal, where the poet Emile Nelligan was a student. Nelligan's father was Irish and Emile was baptised at St. Patrick's Church; he wrote all of his poems in French, by the time he was twenty years old, and spent most of his life institutionalized due to mental illness. He is one of Canada's best poets.

The streets adjoining St. Patrick's Basilica, Montreal

This is what's left of Hermine Street, where my great grandmother, Mary Callaghan, lived, only a block from St. Patrick's Church where her two brothers, both priests, served the congregation. Father Martin Callaghan was the first Montreal-born pastor of St. Patrick's. Of course, we are reminded that he was always "interim" pastor, retired from that position for a younger man who happened to be the son of a past mayor of Montreal . . . It was the act of nouveau riche Irish not wanting to be associated with a priest from the working class, a man who lacked being born into the social position that the other, younger man, had been born into. Father Martin's brother, Father James Callaghan, also served at the church and there is a weather-damaged plaque paying homage to him stored in the basement of the church. I took photographs of the plaque when I visited there with my son about ten years ago (around 1999). Hermine isn't much of a street anymore, not residential at all. It's a half block from St. Patrick's and the street has been cut in two, by the Ville Marie Expressway. This photo faces south and that's a below ground section of the Ville Marie Expressway at the end of the street. Hermine was once residential, now it's a wasteland. Here is a photo of a business that was once located on Hermine:

This is on St. Alexander Street--rue St. Alexandre--looking south towards Hermine. St. Patrick's is just to the right of this photograph.

This is rue St. Alexandre looking north, with St. Patrick's on the left.

You can see a little of this red door, on the right, in the previous photograph. I believe it was where Father Martin Callaghan and Father James Callaghan lived when they were priests at St. Patrick's. Check it out at the Morrissey family history website.

Here (above) is St. Patrick's from rue St. Alexandre.

Looking down at LaGauchetierre (it runs perpendicular to Hermine and St. Alexandre) from St. Patrick's Church. There's a memorial park in the foreground with the foundation of some old buildings that were associated with the church and then some buildings on the other side of the street. Same view below, from circa 1915.

Other historical photos of St. Patrick's Church:

This would be the entrance from Sherbrooke Street West

This is looking from LaGauchetierre, south and parallel to Sherbrooke Street West

This is taken looking up at one of the buildings across the street from St. Patrick's on rue St. Alexandre. This whole area is being redeveloped, lofts and condos are bringing in new people which has a great location to the downtown of Montreal. When I first began walking in this area it was quite run down, and St. Patrick's wasn't in great shape, that was in the early 1970s. I think if there is a single place of deep spirituality in Montreal, this is important, or in any of the many churches in Montreal, it is at St. Patrick's. When I'm downtown I'll sometimes go to St. Patrick's.