During the Second World War, many students from St. Patrick’s College answered the call and volunteered to participate in conflicts overseas. Dedicated to learning about who these young men were and their stories of valor became a project for three former staff members of St. Patrick’s High School. Nickie Levesque, retired Chaplaincy Leader and Brian Chiasson, retired teacher from St. Pat’s, applied for a government grant from Veterans Affairs Canada to build a War Memorial in our school. After successfully receiving the grant, Ms. Levesque partnered up with retired teacher Maureen Johnson to begin their work on the display. Ms. Johnson had done extensive research on finding out more about the stories of those who served from St. Pat’s by interviewing veterans and family members. She ended up writing a play, The Boys of St. Pat’s, that tells the story of some of those who served.

The display contains pictures and artifacts from those who once attended St. Pat’s and served in the war. We are extremely grateful to the family members who have shared these with us. The middle display is dedicated to Indigenous soldiers who fought for Canada, and were not recognized for their sacrifice. They also wanted to honour that St. Patrick’s High School is situated on unceded Algonquin territory. A white crucifix can be found in that display to represent the 87 boys from St. Pat’s who lost their lives during the war. Ms. Johnson and Ms. Levesque are planning on having the war memorial completed within the next year. It may be the only official War Memorial in a school in Canada and we are honoured to have this memorial as part of our St. Pat's family home.

87 lives lost, and many others who served. These are our Boys of St. Pat's. They once walked our hallways before answering the call to service for our country. We are honoured by their sacrifice and we are inspired by their courage and bravery.

The students of St. Pat's strive each day to demonstrate the family values of Respect, Collaboration, Mindset and Excellence. Being a person of St. Pat's character is truly important - demonstrating grit and resilience, loyalty and determination. The memory of those who served in the war are part of our legacy. We will remember.

It is important to preserve this part of our history and we are grateful to Ms. Johnson for her tireless work in collecting memories and gathering stories. Please read through the stories of the Boys of St. Pat's.