On
June 1, 1959 Archbishop Hurley
purchased a ten acre orange grove in the Lealman section of St. Petersburg, Fl.
as the proposed site for the Mission Church of the Transfiguration for the sum
of $56,000. The Archbishop commissioned
Fr Salvatore Profeta to be the first Pastor of this new Parish and the
first Mass was celebrated in the auditorium of Lealman Junior High School on
September 20th, 1959. In
the midst of this orange grove, there existed an old two-story frame house along
with a masonry and wood garage apartment. The
men of the parish labored to dismantle the old frame house, salvaging the wood
to build a small temporary chapel for daily Mass. The first story of the garage
apartment was converted into the church office while the second floor became Fr.
Profeta’s official residence, with two bedrooms and a dining/living area.
Fr
Profeta organized the men and women of this new parish into a Holy Name Society
and a Women’s Guild. In the fall of 1959, the ladies organized the first
official reception on the parish property. They borrowed a tent and chairs from
a local funeral parlor for the occasion. The
Parish was canonically dedicated as the Church of The Transfiguration on
February 16, 1960. Its physical boundaries were 54th Ave to the
North, 58th Street to the West, 22nd Ave. to the South and
28th Street to the East and encompassed approximately 670 families.
On
July 4, 1960, Monsignor
Edward J. Mulligan was installed as the new pastor of this fledgling parish.
He immediately went to work on the plans for a provisional church, officiating
at the groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 18, 1960. Construction was started in
Feb. 1961, the first Mass was celebrated on Easter Sunday, 1961 with the
official dedication on Sunday April 29,
1961.
In
June 1961, construction was started on the new Transfiguration Parish School.
The single wing, one-story school with eight classrooms, was not quite finished
when school opened in September, so for one month, all four grades
(1st – 4th)
were convened daily in the social hall. There were 96 students in four grades
that first year and Monsignor Mullins officially dedicated the school on October
11, 1962. Dedicated lay teachers taught the children for four years, 1961
through 1965, with Mrs. Irene Hynes as the first principal.
In the summer of 1963, Monsignor Mulligan was assigned the task of
finding dedicated nuns to minister to the growing school. He traveled to
Ireland, talked with the Sisters of the
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose Motherhouse is based in Cork.
Sr. Lelia visited Transfiguration school that year at Monsignor’s invitation,
giving him a commitment to staff the school in the fall of 1965. Ground was
broken for a convent on July 25th and three Sisters arrived in August 1965 with
Sister Alphonsus assigned as the new principal.
Throughout
the next twenty years, Sr Alphonsus, Sr. Mary Vincent, Sr. Concepta (Callie),
Mother Carmel, Sr Ursula (Joan), Sr Regis, Sr. de Pazzi, Sr. Ignatius (Mai), Sr.
Kevin, Sr. Teresa, Sr. Regina and Sr. DeLourdes each taught the students of
Transfiguration School for a period of time. Our second lay principal,
Mr. Rick Bayhan served from 1987 until 1992 when Mrs. Joanne Clarie was
appointed principal.
In
1979, Monsignor Mulligan retired as pastor and was succeeded by
Father John Bolger. In 1985, two portable classrooms were added to the
physical plant as it was also the inaugural year for Kindergarten. On June 15,
1998, Fr John Bolger retired after 27 years of service to the Parish, seven
years as Asst. Pastor and twenty years as Pastor. He was honored for his many
years of service when Bishop Lynch
bestowed upon him the Title of Monsignor and Pastor Emeritus.
This
past school year, 2000/2001, Transfiguration School expanded again, adding EC-3
& EC-4 under the expert guidance of our principal, Mrs.
Joanne Clarie, who is retiring this year after nine years of dedicated
leadership.
In
1998, the Order of Mercy took over the
administration of our Parish. With these dedicated priests, and with the Sisters
of Mercy who will commence their ministry to Transfiguration Parish this coming
fall 2001, we look to the future !
(Historical information received from Sr Alphonsus Hogarty)
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Transfiguration Catholic School
St. Petersburg, Fl
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Last Updated 12/06/01