Black Catholics, alumni of old St. Monica, recall their school days

At least seven decades after they graduated from the old St. Monica School, in Lebanon, Ky., alumni believe the Sisters of Loretto’s strict discipline and their emphasis on faith and academic formation set them on a path to success. 

Loueva Moss, a parishioner at Christ the King Church in Louisville, graduated from St. Monica in 1952.

Moss, who grew up on a farm in Lebanon, recalled the school’s strict environment and the sisters’ emphasis on daily prayers, math, penmanship, spelling and reading. She recalled standing in front of the class — clad in a blue pleated skirt, brown tights and white shirt — reading out loud, a staple of their academic formation.

She never owned a new textbook, she said. She recalled old books with ink stains and writing on the pages. This didn’t affect her desire for education, however.

“The instruction, faith formation and moral teachings became ingrained in us and we passed it down,” said Moss during a recent interview. “I want them to see Christ in me. That time at St. Monica helped form that in me. I take great pride in that.”

Moss and a group of St. Monica alumni recently planned and hosted the school’s first reunion.

A group of 50 alumni, along with their family and friends, rekindled friendships and shared memories at the event Sept. 14 in St. Augustine Church’s Parish Hall in Lebanon.

The night included a keynote delivered by Moss, acknowledgment of the three oldest living alumni — Grace Owens, 93; Anna Groves, 93; and Dorothy Burch,100 — music and dancing. 

The event was “Wonderful. We didn’t know what to expect but it was a joyous evening,” she said.

Rose Graves, who along with 10 of her 19 siblings attended St. Monica, was among the alumni who gathered for the reunion.

“It was so exciting,” said Graves, whose sister Grace Owens was honored as one of the oldest living alumni.

During the event, Graves reunited with her best friend from the eighth grade, Arlene Montgomery. 

“We just kept holding on to each other,” she said in a recent interview.

“The instruction, faith formation and moral teachings became ingrained in us and we passed it down. I want them to see Christ in me. That time at St. Monica helped form that in me. I take great pride in that.” 

— Loueva Moss

St. Monica School grew out of a school for colored children opened in 1872. Two Sisters of Loretto from Nerinx, Ky., served as teachers, according to historical records from St. Augustine Church. 

In that school — a one-room frame building on St. Augustine’s campus — the sisters taught children of St. Augustine’s Black parishioners. 

Graves attended St. Monica in the 1950s and said the Sisters of Loretto were strict — she recalled students kneeling for an hour or kneeling during recess as a form of discipline. 

But Graves said she has fond memories of her time at the school.  

“The food was excellent. I remember my first holy Communion. We had our white veils and dresses and it was so beautiful. We had our little catechism books. We worked hard to try and make our parents proud,” said Graves.

In 1914, students moved from that one-room schoolhouse into a new building.

Father Joseph. A. Hogarty — who served as pastor of St. Augustine from 1894 to 1937 — started raising funds to build a separate church for Black parishioners in 1911. According to historical records from the Archdiocese of Louisville, the new church was needed to accommodate the parish’s growing congregation. 

The cornerstone of that new church — St. Monica Church — was laid on July 19, 1914, and the church building was dedicated on Dec. 17, 1914. The basement of the church became the new St. Monica School. 

In 1962, St. Monica and St. Augustine parishes and schools were merged, according to St. Augustine’s records. St. Monica’s building was razed at that time, and the current St. Augustine School was constructed on that spot. 

George Mattingly, a St. Monica alumnus, completed first through fifth-grade at St. Monica, from 1955 to 1960. He transferred to St. Augustine School in 1960. 

Mattingly, who served as the chair of the reunion committee, said he enjoyed his time at St. Monica. Lunchtime was his favorite, especially on days when chilli was served and the kids were able to go back for seconds. 

He recalled with a laugh playing cops and robbers and tackle football at recess, even after the sisters had prohibited the sport. 

He also recalled the school using corporal punishment for discipline, as well as walking to school and cleaning the outdoor toilet. But all of it helped to form him, he said. 

“They were really out to help and guide you as much as possible,” said Mattingly of his teachers.

Mattingly, like Moss, recalled the old textbooks, which he said were behind grade level but the sisters did their best to educate them.

Mattingly graduated from Murray State University and joined the U.S. Army, serving for 22 years. In the service, he traveled to Germany and Panama.

Mattingly noted that St. Monica alumni have been successful. Some went on to earn master’s and doctoral degrees. Some served as teachers and nurses, like Graves and Moss. 

Moss went on to graduate from the old St. Mary and Elizabeth School of Nursing in Louisville in 1959. She later earned a master’s degree from Spalding University and worked in public health.

Graves said she credits her formation at St. Monica with the life she’s lived.

“None of us would be who we are now, spiritually and gifted in education if it wasn’t for that education,” she said. 

Several St. Monica graduates discerned a vocation to the priesthood and religious life. Divine Word Father Vincent Smith became the first African American from Kentucky to be ordained a priest, according to the Loretto archives and historical records from the Archdiocese of Louisville. 

Father Smith later entered the Trappists, formally known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, and lived at the Abbey of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Ky., for some time. 

Oblate Sisters of Providence Margaret Mary Thorton, Clementine Hamilton and Antonella Hamilton were also graduates of St. Monica along with Sisters of the Holy Family Joachim Spalding and Dionysia Graves, according to the Loretto archives.