Carencro Catholic School is a result of the dreams of a Canadian priest, Father A.B. Laforet, and Saint Katharine Drexel. Father Laforet brought sisters of the Order of Mount Carmel to Carencro in 1897, opening St. Anne's Convent school to educate the children of St. Peter’s parish. Carmelite nuns staffed the school in various locations until 1963, when Father A.M. Wassler, pastor of St. Peter's Church, opened St. Pierre School. ‘Pierre’ is ‘Peter’ in French. A number of sisters remained affiliated with the school until the early 1970s. (St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Therese of Lisieux were Carmelites.)
Our front office building, classrooms, and cafeteria were part of St. Pierre school. St. Anne's Chapel is dedicated to the memory of the nuns who started Catholic education in Carencro, and the Monsignor Wassler Library honors the founder of St. Pierre School.
St. Katharine Drexel was born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia in 1855. On a trip to the western United States, the sight of Black and Native American children living and working in poverty touched her. She devoted the remainder of her life and fortune to helping them. She founded the order of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and worked to open more than 60 rural schools for children across the U.S. She founded Xavier University in New Orleans. In 1924 and 1926, Mother Katharine Drexel opened two schools for Black and Native American children in the Carencro area. The two schools eventually moved to the property behind Our Lady of Assumption church and operated as Our Lady of the Assumption School, staffed by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The school merged with St. Pierre School in 1971.
Canonized in 2000, St. Katharine's feast day is March 3. The St. Katharine Drexel Memorial Garden near the school gym honors deceased graduates of CCS.
We celebrate Mass here on campus with Father Wassler's chalice created for St. Pierre school. The chalice is decorated with an upside-down cross, a key and his Monsignor's chapeau or biretta. The upside-down cross ties the school to St. Peter's church parish. St. Peter was crucified upside down. He did not think himself worthy of being crucified in the way that Christ was. The St. Pierre Art Studio recognizes St. Pierre School and our ties to St. Peter's church parish. The center of our crest features a chalice with an upside-down cross.