PRESS RELEASE: Chesterton Academy Acquires St. Francis Property
New Catholic High School Purchases Former Warwick Parish and School
WARWICK — Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope recently purchased the buildings that housed the former parish and school of Saint Francis of Assisi on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick. The deal between the Diocese of Providence and Chesterton Academy was finalized on Wednesday, May 31.
The priests, staff, faculty, and parishioners have maintained this property well and it is ideally suited to be the long term home of Chesterton Academy.
“We are grateful for the love and faith that the Saint Francis community displayed over the years,” said Mike Casey, chairman of the board at Chesterton Academy. “Their sacrifices, along with the excellent work of Father Messina and the Diocese of Providence, made this all possible. Our mission is to build upon what the mission has always been at Saint Francis — to provide a sacred place for worship of Almighty God, especially in the celebration of Holy Mass, and educate children in the Catholic Faith.”
Saint Francis of Assisi School closed in 2009. The canonical parish was merged with SS. Rose and Clement Parish, Warwick, more recently in 2021. At that time, the church building of St. Francis of Assisi was canonically relegated to non-sacred use. Since then it has been used as a meeting grounds for various Catholic groups such as the Knights of Columbus.
“As the new Bishop of Providence, I am delighted that these buildings will find a new life in serving the mission of the Church,” said Bishop Richard Henning. “I am also grateful for the opportunity to join my voice to that of Bishop Tobin in welcoming the Chesterton Academy to the Diocese of Providence. The excellence of the Classical and Catholic education offered by Chesterton Academies has been a blessing to the Church across the US and beyond and I look forward to seeing this new mission grow and flourish.”
Chesterton Academy is not moving very far. Earlier this year they announced the acquisition of their new home at 487 Jefferson Boulevard, just a few hundred feet down the road from Saint Francis.
Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope is an independent, classical, Catholic high school in Warwick, Rhode Island. In November 2022, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin signed a canonical decree making it an official Catholic high school in the Diocese of Providence.
The new Catholic high school is part of a network of Chesterton Academies across the country which seeks to form young men and women to be joyful saints by introducing them to lively academic discussions and great thinkers such as Plato, Saint Augustine, and G.K. Chesterton.