On Sunday, May 25, at the 10:00am Mass, we celebrated in a special way the gifts of the Christian Brothers of O'Dea High School.  The Brothers are leaving Seattle after ninety-one years of service.  Here, five brothers are led in the entrance procession by an image of their saintly founder, Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice.


After the homily, the brothers renewed their vows in the presence of the entire assembly.


Brother John "Hughie" Greenan both composed and proclaimed the Prayers of the Faithful.


At the conclusion of Mass, Brother John Dornbos, superior of the community, shared some thoughts--both sorrowful and joyful.


The Marian antiphon at the conclusion of the Mass.


From left to right, Brother Lejeune, Brother Gittone, Father Ryan, Brother Dornbos, Brother McCormack, and Brother Greenan.


Chocolate doughnuts by special request!


Some history panels in the Hall shared the story of the origins of O'Dea High School.

O’Dea High School was the dream of Cathedral pastor Msgr. James Gordon Stafford. Under his leadership, the Cathedral School, which at that time provided 1st through 8th grade education for boys and girls and also housed a high school for girls, had grown to 632 students.  The Cathedral Parish covered the cost of tuition and books, and even provided a special street car to bring children from Beacon Hill and Georgetown. The Cathedral School building was so crowded that classes were taught in Cathedral Hall, in two portable buildings, and even in the North Sacristy!

An early yearbook for the Cathedral Parish goes on: “The zeal for education could allow only one choice. For four years, Fr. Stafford had longed for a Boys’ High School and now was the time to act. And with the determination that this great parish should offer our young men an institution of learning equal to anything in the country, he planned a structure of outstanding beauty and usefulness. He did this in spite of the burden of over a quarter million dollars which the whole undertaking would place upon him and upon his people.” Father Stafford invited the Christian Brothers of Ireland to staff the school.

Ground was broken for O’Dea High School in 1923, and it was completed in just under a year. Bishop O’Dea dedicated the school on March 18, 1924.