Welcome to St. Alphonsus Catholic School

Dear St. Alphonsus School Faith Community: 

        The mission of American Catholic schools is one of divine simplicity: to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and prepare our community for salvation. While accomplishing this mission, Catholic educators are also preparing students to be visionaries that ultimately are productive citizens who are able to communicate, through voice and actions, the message of Jesus; in other words, we are training the community to be disciples of Jesus.

        In his book, Parish School, Tim Walch tells us that Catholic schools were established in order to preserve the faith. Today, we face the very same problem. We live in a society where a dangerous apathy concerning faith is rising among all Christians, not just Catholics. Our society promotes anti-God concepts in the public schools. We have been stripped of our nation’s founding identity because of a minority’s discontent. However, Catholic schools today provide an environment of vibrant faith-filled color in a world of dull gray. 

        Our schools provide a freedom to stand up and pray any time of the day and in any place. It is through the mission of our schools that our future can be transformed –through our young people.

        Many people cannot afford to send their children to Catholic schools. My question is: How can we afford not to send our children to Catholic schools? After all, their salvation (and ours) is at stake! It is my duty as a minister in the Church to find a solution for this dilemma. If we don’t work together as a faith community, then no one else will. How can we face our Maker one day and not have made an effort to resolve this?

        My personal mission as a Catholic educator is one that evolves on a daily basis. As I witness the power of the transformations that Jesus provides, I grow and I alter my mode of thinking. Of course, at the core of my mission is the desire to be as Jesus-like as possible in all aspects of my life. Sometimes, for me, this is a daunting task. 

Truly, it is my hope that others will see Jesus working through me and that I will inspire them to follow the teachings of our Lord. 

Yours in Christ,
Tammy Mabile

About St. Alphonsus Catholic School

Records show that a parochial school at St. Alphonsus was operating as far back as 1877 under the direction of lay teachers. Due to lack of funds, the school closed. Around 1893, the new priest, Fr. Lennon, re-opened the school with a lay teacher who was a graduate of the Sisters of Mercy in New Orleans. He then requested four sisters from Vicksburg (whose school had been successful) to establish a school at McComb. 

On September 8, 1901, the new school opened under the direction of these sisters. Later, in 1936, because of the deteriorating condition of the convent and school, the school was closed. Parishioners became concerned about the education of their children and once again the school and convent was rebuilt and reopened in the fall of 1958. 

The school operated for twelve years and closed again in 1970. The original school faced Minnesota Avenue where the original steps still exist along with the foundation which is now buried beneath the elementary playground of our school today. 

The primary grade classrooms were built in 1957 and McNamara Hall, our current office and kindergarten building, was the dormitory for the nuns. In recent history, the school reopened again in 1992. Each year a grade level was added; in 1997 new classrooms were constructed for the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade.