First Holy Communion, 1945

Look at these angelic faces....  Thanks so much to Bill Moorhead, Class of 1951, for sharing photos of three of his classmates and himself from First Holy Communion Day, May 30, 1945. 

Carol Ann Schuten, William J. Moorhead & Leanna Larabee

Jay Sullivan

Photos courtesy: Bill Moorhead

Class of '64 Plans Reunion

Class of '64 is planning a 50th Reunion next Spring and is looking for all graduates.  Please contact Rita Kernaghan at ritathornton05@yahoo.com for more details.

25-Year Celebration -- St. Martin de Porres Church

Fr. Thomas Libera, pastor of St. Martin de Porres, invites all St. Thomas Aquinas alums, family and friends to celebrate 25 years of worship and community service at St. Martin de Porres Church November 1 - 3, 2013.

The festivities include a concert, luncheon (Elmcrest Banquet Hall, Elmwood) and Feast Day Unity Mass. 

His Eminence Francis Cardinal George will be principal celebrant on Sunday, November 3, 2013 at the Feast of St. Martin de Porres.


If you haven't been to our beautiful church lately, or even if you have, consider joining parishioners, community members, alumni and friends at one of the scheduled activities over the Feast Day weekend activities.

For more information call the rectory at 773-287-0206 or email st.martindeporres@sbcglobal.net

Were You Born at Loretto Hospital?

Loretto Hospital is searching for 200 "Loretto Babies" to attend a special Birthday Celebration on Saturday, August 3, 2013.  The hospital has planned a great Birth-Day party for its babies with plenty of fun, food and excitement.  It is a family friendly day with a raffle for the babies that attend. 

Janice Henry, Parish Nurse at St. Martin de Porres Church and Community Health Nurse at Loretto Hospital, is reaching out to St. Thomas Aquinas Alums.  If you were born at Loretto Hospital the hospital would love to hear from you.

If you have questions feel free to phone Ms Henry at 773-879-6182 or email her at jmhenryrn@yahoo.com. She can also be contacted at her office at 773-854-5672 or send a fax to 773-854-1952.

Hope all you Loretto Babies can participate!

First Holy Communion, 1954 - Class of 1960

Weren't we angelic in 1954?

Click on photo to enlarge

Msgr. Long must have posed for numerous similar pictures over his tenure as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Photo courtesy: Elaine McIntyre Beaudoin

739 Years Ago

March 7 | St Thomas Aquinas

1225? - March 7, 1274: Age 49?

One day while banqueting with the King of France, Thomas Aquinas came out of a long reverie by banging on the table and shouting, "That settles the Manichees!" He was the Mozart of theological argument, and he knew it, not as a point of vanity or pride but simply as a fact: God had put him on earth to write, and that was his life's work.

When, as the teenaged son of a wealthy Italian nobles, he began to show an affinity for monastic life, his family were horrified. They kidnapped him to try to force him to exercise more judgment in his career choices. They even put a beautiful young woman in his room to tempt him, but God sent down a couple of angels who "girded his loins with chastity". One wonders what that was like.

In December 1273, after three decades of writing the most potent theological expositions the Catholic Church has known before or since, he simply stopped. "All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me." He wrote no more, and seemed to be in a bit of a daze after that. He said, "The only thing I want now is that as God has put an end to my writing, He may quickly end my life also."

This prayer was granted. On his way to Lyons to meet with the Pope, he was hit on the head by a tree branch and fell off his donkey. Dazed, he was taken to the castle of his niece, who lived nearby. After spending some days there, he felt near death, and asked to be taken to an abbey. "If the Lord is coming for me, I had better be found in a religious house than in a castle." He was carried on a donkey to an abbey six miles away, where he died a week later.

Source: Forbes, Malcolm, They Went That-a-Way, Simon and Shuster, New York, 1988.

Class of 1952, Eighth Grade

Mary Flood Wallace (Class of 1952) sent photos from both eighth-grade 1952 classrooms.  She kindly identified a number of individuals in the photos.  If you start counting from the back row, left to right and include Msgr. Long, you will be able to match up the number next to the individual's name with the appropriate face. Can anyone identify others in the photos?

Eighth Grade Class, Room 15, 1952

Eighth Grad Class, Room 16, 1952

Mary, thanks so much for sharing these great photos from 1952 -- taken more than 60 years ago!  To enlarge the photo, click on the image.

Grade Unknown, Class of 1952

Today the STA Blog received the following email and the photos included in this post and the next post.

I noticed your blog and I had some family members that went there. I am attaching some photos I thought you might like. They are both of my sister Suzanne Walsh. The class photo I am not sure of the date, she graduated in class of '52. I have also a shot of the back side which has some class members names on it.
Richard Walsh

Thank you Richard - What a great photo from your sister Suzanne Walshes' class at STA.  Perhaps others will be able to identify individuals in the photo.  Actually, I believe the young man in the second row, second from the left, is Jimmy Laughlin.  He still looks the same!  I'll ask his sister if it is him.

Writing on back of photo above

Photos courtesy: Richard Walsh brother of Suzanne Walsh, Class of 1952.

1947 Music Class

Another great photo from Richard Walsh.  His sister, Suzanne Walsh, Class of 1952, is somewhere in this photo.

Does anyone know who the music Sister is?  It is great STA had an all school music class.

Thanks, Richard, for sharing the wonderful photos from your sister.