St. Peter Catholic School is a Catholic parochial school located in North St. Paul, Minnesota, serving students from preschool through 8th grade.
The Catholic community in North St. Paul began in 1888 as a mission parish of Guardian Angels parish. Throughout the early years the parish occupied a series of buildings until 1915 when the parishioners built the brick church. The older building was remodeled into the town’s first parochial school.
Members of the Sisters of St. Joseph staffed the school until 1928, at which time several things began to change. The Sisters of St. Francis from Rochester were hired to teach in the school. A new school and convent were also built. The school had eight classrooms, a library, and a nurse’s room.
Along with the new school came modern conveniences. There were indoor restrooms. The basement of the school was also built to accommodate parish activities. It contained a four-lane bowling alley, shower rooms and a kitchen. Within ten years, however, a shortage of classroom space caused the removal of the bowling lanes.
In 1951, then-pastor Father O’Reilley began a building fund to add on a parish high school. By the time the building was complete, however, all the space was needed for overcrowded grades. The plans for the high school were tabled.
In 1972 O’Reilley Hall was built. This large multi-purpose space is shared between the parish and school. All-school assemblies, large parish functions, and athletic games and tournaments are held in this space. Physical education classes also use O’Reilley Hall each day.
The school continued to be served by the Sisters of St. Francis until 1976. At this time a decision was made to discontinue this association. They had served the community for 71 years. After the sisters left the convent, new uses for the building were discussed. The basement of the convent was renovated in the mid-1980s to accommodate a Kindergarten program.
The parish’s increased need for space led to the building of Fellowship Hall in 1994. The kindergarten program was moved to this new space along with the addition of a licensed preschool program. At this time an extended daycare program was also added.
St. Peter Catholic School continues to operate as a preschool – 8th grade building. Students have many opportunities to expand their horizons in many areas. All students are able to take Spanish language instruction, receive technology classes, and participate in extracurricular activities. Some of these include sports, Chess Club, Mad Science, choir, band and strings instruction.
In 2007, a building project began which includes a new church and parish administrative building. St. Peter Catholic School, in conjunction with the Church of St. Peter, is an exciting community to be a part of.