History
St. Josephine Bakhita School’s story began as St. Matthias School in the late 1950’s. Plans for the school and parish hall building were completed in April 1957 under the leadership of the first pastor, Father Ralph Dermody, with final plans approved by the then-new Bishop Issenman in 1958. The construction of the building began in 1958.
The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky, accepted St. Matthias School as their teaching mission. The school opened its doors to 344 children on September 15, 1958. Under the leadership of Sister Agnes Clarissa, S.C.N., four sisters and four lay teachers taught in the eight classrooms. The tuition was $20.00 per year. A convent was built facing Ferris Road, and the sisters moved there in August 1959. As the need for an adequate rectory became necessary, the property at 4085 Karl Road was acquired in 1960. Enrollment peaked at 929 students during the 1963-1964 school year. At this time, nineteen classrooms were staffed, five of which were on the second floor of our neighbor, St. Francis DeSales High School.
In 1973, the Sisters of Charity sadly informed Father Dermody that they could no longer staff the school. The Franciscan Sisters of Stella Niagara took their place and taught at St. Matthias School until 1985. When the north wing was added, four of the eight planned classrooms were left without partitions to serve as a new multipurpose room. This allowed the former one to be expanded into the church to accommodate the overflow Sunday crowds. By 1976, only eight classrooms were needed due to a gradual decline in enrollment. Eventually, the vacated rooms were converted into a parish hall and kitchen, followed by a larger Media Center, Reading Lab, Teacher’s Room and Kindergarten.
Father Dermody was succeeded by Father Raymond Lavelle, who led the parish and school until 1991. Through the efforts of these two men, the building’s mortgage was burned in 1984, and the parish and school were out of debt. In 1992, the properties on Karl Road were sold, and the vacated convent on Ferris Road was converted into a rectory.
An expansion and renovation program for St. Matthias was proposed in 1995 under the leadership of Father James Smith, Sister Marie Shields, and principal Dan Kinley, and a fund drive began in September 1996 to obtain pledges to build a new Parish Center, which would contain a gymnasium, kitchen, after-school care room, and restroom. The plan included redesigning existing facilities to proved for a meeting room for parish activities, religious education office, nurse’s station, faculty room, art room, media center, and new parking areas. Groundbreaking took place on April 6, 1997, and by October 26, 1997, the completed facility that exists today was dedicated.
In 2021, the Diocese of Columbus began a three-year consultation process called Real Presence, Real Future. In June 2023, the Diocese announced that three parishes and two schools serving the North Linden and Northland communities would merge. In that process, St. Matthias School would remain open, but as part of a new parish with St. Elizabeth Church. After a year of consultation with the three parish communities, it was announced on February 8, 2024 by Father Anthony Davis that the school and parish would join together under a new patron saint – St. Josephine Bakhita. On June 15, 2024, the parish held its establishment Mass with Bishop Earl Fernandes as the celebrant. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce formally approved of the school’s name change in August 2024, and the change went into effect immediately.
A Local and Global Community
St. Josephine Bakhita School currently welcomes students from 12 zip codes in the greater Columbus area. Our students were born in 12 countries and 9 states in the United States. We are truly both a local community and a global community.
Accreditation
St. Josephine Bakhita School is accredited by the Ohio Catholic Schools Accreditation Association through May 2029.