St. Louis Catholic Elementary School, Mimico

St. Louis is an elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

in the former town of Mimico

Mimico

The historic Town of Mimico is a neighbourhood in the south-western part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-east corner of the former Township of Etobicoke, and was an independent municipality from 1911 to 1967....

, Etobicoke, now a part of Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

and is operated by the Toronto Catholic District School Board

Toronto Catholic District School Board

The Toronto Catholic District School Board is the publicly-funded Catholic school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. It is one of the two English boards of education in the City of Toronto, serving the former municipalities of Scarborough, North York, York, East York,...

History

During the post war years Mimico quickly grew with the arrival of many new families from largely catholic European nations, especially many from Italy, settling in northern Mimico. This led to the creation of St. Louis school out of St. Leo's (established in 1926), both of which are within the parish of St. Leo's Roman Catholic Church, Mimico

St. Leo's Roman Catholic Church, Mimico

St. Leo's Roman Catholic Church on Royal York Rd at Stanley, Mimico in Toronto , Ontario, is the oldest Catholic church in Etobicoke and the only Catholic church in Mimico.-History:First church...

, and together formed the former Mimico Separate School Board. St. Leo's Italian speaking pastor, Rev. Dr. Louis Markle, was very instrumental in the creation of the school while plans for a separate Italian church in northern Mimico were considered after liturgical changes led to the replacement of Latin with English for services at St. Leo's church (Italian masses are still celebrated at the church). Rev. Dr. Louis Markle choose his own patron, St Louis of France

Louis IX of France

Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...

, as the patron for the school. St. Louis was built on the former farm of the founder of St. Leo's, Mr. Edward Stock, whose nearby home, 'Eden Court' (recently designated as historic) on Royal York Rd. (formerly Church St.) was used for masses before the original St. Leo' was built. St. Louis is separated from the rest of Mimico by the Queen Elizabeth Way which was constructed through Mimico where many homes were demolished for it. The school was first served by the Sisters of St. Joseph

Sisters of St. Joseph

The title Sisters of St. Joseph applies to several Roman Catholic religious congregations of women. The largest and oldest of these was founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France...

until the Town of Mimico was dissolved in 1967 which led to the amalgamation of the Mimico Separate School Board with the Metropolitan Separate School Board (now the Toronto Catholic District School Board). St. Louis has faced challenges as new parishes and schools, especially Holy Angles (also a largely Italian parish near the Queensway) wee created and Toronto experienced a general decline in the population of school aged children in recent years. The original St. Louis school was demolished in 1990.

Graduating students from St. Louis originally having attended Etobicoke's first catholic secondary schools Michael Power (for boys) or St. Joseph's, Islington (for girls) both in central Etobiocoke or, if unable to pay, the local public Mimico High School, after full funding for Catholic Education was introduced in the 1980s, new catholic secondary schools were established in southern Etobicoke; St. Louis is now a feeder school for Bishop Allan Acadamy in New Toronto

New Toronto

The historic Town of New Toronto is a neighbourhood in the south-west end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-centre of the former Township of Etobicoke and was an independent municipality from 1913 to 1967, one of the former 'Lakeshore Municipalities'...

History

See also