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The Catholic population of Wichita was growing rapidly by the late 1920’s. A building boom in the College Hill area offered comfortable homes for young families and the expanding neighborhood was chosen as the site for a new parish.
• On July 3, 1927, Bishop August J. Schwertner announced the creation of the new parish and the appointment of Father Timothy J. O’Sullivan as its pastor. Father Sullivan chose the name “Church of the Blessed Sacrament”
• July 10, 1927, the first Mass, was celebrated at Mount St. Mary’s, the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph. This order has a history with the parish from 1928 to the present day. The sisters staffed the school exclusively until the 1955-56 school year when lay teachers were first employed.
• October 10, 1927, ground was broken for first school/chapel. The building was completed March 31, 1928.
• April 8, 1928, the first Mass in the new chapel was offered on Easter Sunday.
• September 10, 1928, Blessed Sacrament School opened its doors to 155 students in Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. Blessed Sacrament was the first school in the Wichita Diocese to offer Kindergarten. • October 21, 1951, the cornerstone for the church was laid. The church was built on the corner of Douglas and Roosevelt, the site of the former residence of the Bishop of the Diocese of Wichita.
• July 20, 1951, the new church was dedicated by Bishop Mark K. Carroll.
• 1958, the new convent was built between the church and school. It now houses the Middle School. The Dockum House at 124 N. Roosevelt had served as the convent for the sisters. It now became the rectory.
• September 29, 1983, Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament began. Our parish was the first in the Diocese to promote Eucharistic Adoration. • 1998, Phase I of the Capital Campaign added 13,000 square feet to the school complex. Bishop Eugene J. Gerber dedicated the addition on Sept. 6.
• September 22, 2002, marked the 75th anniversary celebration of the parish and the dedication by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phase II of the Capital Campaign that added 22,144 square feet to the parish complex. This included the new 8,000-square foot gym with walking track, parish offices, meeting rooms and classrooms.
• March 19, 2007, the enhanced parish and school website launched with a wide range of parish and school information updated weekly.
• December 3, 2007, Scriptorium, the parish book and gift shop, opened.
• September 2008, 25th anniversary celebration of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was celebrated.
