In the year 1940, a well-known Catholic laywoman, Catherine Goddard Clarke, pursued the permission of the then-Archbishop of Boston, William Cardinal O’Connell. Her goal? To put up an educational oasis of Catholicism near the prominent secular universities that mostly dominated the area. With this proposal, the Cardinal agreed to make the project project possible. He then ordered Mrs. Clarke to teach about faith without reservations. This is how Saint Benedict Center, a catholic school, was quietly established that year. The school was built at the intersection of Bow and Arrow Streets in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The school’s primary aim was to provide religious guide for the Catholic students of the universities through the rules kept and made by Cardinal O’Connell. The school’s policy was to instruct the students about the Holy Scripture which is the Bible. Several books here were given focus especially the books of John, Matthew and Luke. The created curriculum of studies gathered immediate success, being the edge of the catholic school against other neighboring academic institutions. The Center’s population grew eventually.
In the year 1942, the prominent Jesuit priest, Father Leonard Feeney, became affiliated with the work of the Center. His did some counseling, lecturing, and he eventually became the Spiritual Director of Saint Benedict Center. This was done by general demand and also by appointment from the priest’s superiors. Father Leonard Feeney was an author and a poet and was tagged as “… the greatest theologian in the United States by far,”. Memories of him were recalled. Like when people see him lecturing about Holy Scripture in a packed Center every Thursday evening. Mrs. Clarke would then do the same work as she would usually have lectures every Monday evening.
Later in the year 1942, a certain Professor Fakhri Maluf of Lebanon visited the Center as he was in a research fellowship in Harvard University. Father Feeney grabbed to opportunity to ask Doctor Maluf if he can begin an evening lecture about philosophy and theology on Tuesday. The lecture was then carried up to the present time.
Catherine Goddard Clarke, Father Leonard Feeney and Professor Fakhri Maluf formed an institution that had a balance of secular life and catholicism. They became prominent icons for people who believe that Catholicism should be tackled in school too, and not only in church.