Saint Augustine Catholic School

	The Mother Church of African American Catholics in the Nation's Capital
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Be it known to all who enter here
that Christ is the reason for this
school. He is the unseen but ever
present teacher in its classes.
He is the model of its faculty and
the inspiration of its students.

Author Unknown

Graduating Class of 1937
St. Augustine Photo Archives

From 1858 to the 21st Century:
Celebrating Our Excellence,
Educating Our Future

		St. Augustine Church and School were intertwined functions from the beginning. They trace their heritage to 1858 and the efforts of a group of dedicated, free Black Catholics who believed, as we still believe today, that excellence in education is a key factor for realizing equality.

Faced with a society that was not yet willing to put off the vestiges of slavery and a Church that, at best, tolerated the presence of Black people in its congregation, these committed free men and women united to found a Catholic school and chapel on 15th Street. Under the patronage of Blessed Martin de Porres, the school was staffed by the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the world's oldest existing religious order of Black women, itself founded in 1829 for the express purpose of educating the children of people of color. St. Augustine Photo Archives
		St. Augustine Photo Archives
		In what is an historical irony, Blessed Martin's School had been in operation four years before mandatory public education of Black children became law in the Nation's Capital. In 2002, St. Augustine School became part of the Center City Consortium. Central to a project called Faith in the City, the Consortium's mission is to make "a difference for the children of our parishes and communities by providing educational excellence rooted in the values of our living Catholic Faith".

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