In the Beginning...

The Church of the Little Flower was established in 1925. It began as a small frame church, built for 70 families ready to form a new parish in Richmond Heights. Father Tammany spearheaded the efforts, and with much help from friendly contractors and suppliers the church was completed in time for Christmas Eve.

The church was built with no money down, at a cost of $5,000. Actually, it remained unnamed for several months, until 12 families came together to choose a dedication. The men could not come to any agreement on a name, while the women almost unanimously chose "Little Flower," in honor of Ste. Therese of Lisieux. It seemed appropriate, as she was canonized in 1925 - the same year as the founding of the church.

The men jokingly warned against naming the parish after a woman, "because it would never get out of debt." Some months later, Father Tammany must have remembered that warning. A group of parishioners came to Father, wanting to establish a Catholic school. He declined, citing the parish was already in debt from the church construction. The group persisted, even threatening to move from the neighborhood if a school was not founded. Father Tammany relented, and went into debt another $5,000 to build the small, two room school.

In September of 1926, 50 students set to attend the inaugural year at Little Flower Catholic School, under the direction of two Dominican sisters. To this day, our school continues to maintain a Dominican presence, enriching the students' lives.

The Little Flower community grew over the next few years, resulting in the ground-breaking for a new brick schoolhouse on Christmas Eve, 1928. The building was finished the next year, at a total cost of $99,580. The parish had 200 families, and about 165 children attending the school. By 1931, there were 294 families and 265 students.

In 1937, a third floor was added to the school, giving parishioners an auditorium and social center. Since the new school had been built, church services had been held in what is now the cafeteria. This practice continued until December 11, 1949, when the current Church of the Little Flower officially was completed and opened. The church was ready for the Little Flower parish Silver Jubilee in 1950, marking its 25 years in existence.