Christ the King and Holy Trinity Closed School records

In 1939, the Redemptorist priests from the Province of Baltimore established a special apostolate to the African American Community in Orangeburg  with Fr. Thomas Gilhooley, C.SS.R.  Father Gilhooley rendted a house to serve as a temporary mission and named it "Christ the King."  Prior to that, African Americans attended mass at Holy Trinity.  In 1940 a combination church, school and convent was constructed for the Black Community.  On 17 December, four days before the building was opened for use, it was destroyed by fire.  After investigation, the fire was thought to be caused by racially motivated arson.  Father Gilhooley later selected a new site where Christ the King mission church and school were constricted and blessed by Bishop Emmet J. Walsh on 18 October 1942.  In 1943 the Obloate Sisters of Providence arrived to staff the only Catholic school in the county.  By 1938, growth and planned expantion exceeded the facilities.  Land next door to the school was purchased to alleviate the growth. In light of the struggle for civil rights in Orangeburg and the U.S., and in response to concerns about the dual system of separatism and segregation in the Catholic Church in Orangeburg, Bishop Urnest L. Unterkoefler decided to merge Christ the King and Holy Trinity parishes in August 1967.  Christ the King School was moved into Holy Trinity Catechetical Center and was renamed Holy Trinity School.  In June 1997, Bishop Thompson asked Father Polewczak at Holy Trinity Parish to conduct a study to determine the viability of the school and present to him a recommendation for its future.  In April 1998 the school was closed because it could no longer meet the four criteria established by the diocese for all its schools in South Carolina.  The school's historical importance and its impact on the community were recognized by Father Polewczak, who described the decision to close as dfficult and painful.

Note written by Jennifer E. Neal