Alumni and friends of the Academy are cordially invited to Saint Raphael Academy’s Centennial Celebration Gala, at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet on June 21, 2025.
The festivities will begin at 6 pm and include a cocktail hour, an auction, dinner and dancing, and lots of time to relive memories from Saints’ first 100 years. Tickets are now on sale on the school website. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
The school has commemorated this important milestone with a slate of events and activities for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.
The kickoff event was an opening Mass on September 7, 2024, celebrated by former Bishop of the Diocese of Providence Richard G. Henning. On September 11, students attended a school-wide Mass and celebration. Pawtucket mayor Don Grebien and state representative Mary Messier gave special proclamations to commemorate the day. Brother Thomas Casey, FSC, a Christian Brother who taught at Saints for more than two decades, also spoke of the history of the school. Students enjoyed a trivia game and participated in the annual opening of school mass that afternoon.
On March 27 in celebration of 50 Years of Female Excellence and Women’s History Month, Saints held its first annual women’s forum, bringing back many alumnae to hear from a panel of influential speakers, who talked about unique issues faced by women in their careers.
Saint Raphael Academy began 100 Years ago in Pawtucket. With support from the Diocese of Providence and in consultation with Bishop William Hickey, the local pastors whose parishes provided students for the new high school decided that the Academy should be dedicated to Saint Raphael, one of the seven Archangels and the patron saint of youth. The Christian Brothers brought the ideals and teachings of St. John Baptist de La Salle to the U.S. and started many Catholic schools in New York and the Northeast. Saint Raphael Academy officially opened its doors on September 10, 1924, welcoming 59 young men into what was once a residence at 123 Walcott Street (now the White Building) in Pawtucket. The Academy remained an all-male high school until 1974, when young women were welcomed from the former St. Jean Baptiste Academy.
