St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Convent, Rectory, and School
# St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Convent, Rectory, and School

St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Convent, Rectory, and School is an historic Roman Catholic church complex at 251 Oxford Street in Providence, Rhode Island within the Diocese of Providence.

## Description

The main church building is a large structure of red brick with red-sandstone trim. The Lower (basement) Church was designed by Martin & Hall. The Upper Church (nave and tower) was designed by Ambrose J. Murphy. The complete structure was built over a 25-year period ending in 1915. The rectory, located east of the church, was designed by Ambrose Murphy and built in 1924–25, and is also faced in red brick. The convent stands west of the church; it is a 3+1⁄2-story red-brick structure also designed by Murphy and built in 1929. Behind the convent stands the school building, which faces Gordon Avenue. It is a two-story red-brick building. The first church building built for St Michael's parish was completed in 1868. It was designed by Ambrose Murphy's uncle, James Murphy (architect). After completion of the new church, it became the Parish Hall. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by an arson fire in the 1970s.

The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

## Congregation

The congregation was founded in 1859, and served mostly Irish immigrants on the South Side of Providence. In the 1960s, the neighborhood transformed as white residents moved away to the suburbs and newcomers of various ethnicities moved in.

In the 1970's, St. Michaels became known as a multicultural parish with a support for progressive organizations and policies. Social justice activist Sister Ann Keefe and members of the church helped found various progressive causes and hosted meetings for progressive organizations. As more immigrants arrived, the church hosted masses in English, Hmong, Spanish, Haitian Creoloe, and Kirundi, a language spoken in Rwanda and Burundi. The church welcomed Catholics who disagreed with the Catholic Church’s teachings on issues such as gay rights and abortion.

In 2020, Sister Joyce Flowers and pastor Father Robert Paul Perron died, and the church was put under new, more conservative, leadership. Many congregants saw the new leadership as less inclusive and lacking the previous commitment to social justice. The Providence Journal reported in 2023 that "at least 100 people have left St. Michael’s since 2020".

