After thee hundred Catholic families responded to a census, Fr. John Scully of Pinellas Park organized the Blessed Sacrament mission and celebrated its first Mass in Madeira Beach on May 17, 1959. Construction began the next month on a temporary church in Seminole, in a former citrus grove.
Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley entrusted the parish to the care of the priests of the Institute of Charity, shortly after establishing the mission as a parish on June 29, 1959, on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. The congregation moved into its temporary home in January, 1960.
Parishioners worshipped in the temporary church until late 1978 when members dedicated the new fan-shaped building with money they had raised. The parish has more than 1,800 registered families, many of whom volunteer for various ministries and organizations.
Its first pastor, Father Patrick J. Convery, I.C., dreamed of a parish school with religious sisters as teachers. Father Convery watched ground break in May 1962, but his successor, Father Michael Cottrell, would be the one to oversee the opening the following September. The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception did not arrive until August 1969, however. The school at first served children in grades one through four, followed later by grades five through eight. Approximately twenty-two years ago, the school welcomed its first kindergarten class. Other improvements include a larger library, a new computer room, hot lunch program, and the installation of an elevator.
These days the school is flourishing with two-hundred and fifty students. Parent volunteers work hard to ensure the success of annual fundraisers, the expansion of the sports program and the support of classroom activities.
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