CORNWALL, Ontario – St. Matthew Catholic Secondary School’s new location received a formal blessing on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Father John said a few prayers and blessed a new plaque that has been installed at the front of the school.
Formerly located on Marlborough St., St. Matthew re-opened this past September at 323 Augustus St., the former St. Columban’s Catholic School.
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“The government asked us a few years back to review our schools,” said Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO) Chair Todd Lalonde. “We had a local principal here who was concerned about St. Matt’s . . . and the conversation started ‘what can we do for St. Matthew’s.'”
Lalonde explained that St. Matt’s was a growing school, and that their new location allows them to better serve the needs of their expanding student population.
“You’ll see our culinary class here is state-of-the-art,” Lalonde said, who also explained that the school was providing a hair dressing course, and a wood working shop, in addition to a gymnasium. “It’s endless here. What child does not deserve a gymnasium.”
St. Columban’s Catholic School, which formerly occupied the building for 60 years, closed in 2018. The students at that school were moved to the new amalgamated Sacred Heart School, which is located next to St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School on Cumberland Ave. in Cornwall.
