Everyone at Central Catholic knows about the story of Brother Florentius; however, there is more to the story than most students think. It all started because of a boy from Quebec with a dream and a river.
During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, most Lawrence residents were immigrants. There were people from all over, including: Canada, Ireland, England, Germany, and Puerto Rico. The Merrimack River goes through Lawrence along with Concord, Manchester, and Nashua, Lowell, and Haverhill. In the 19th century, rivers usually mean there is work nearby. In those times there was not much electricity and it was expensive. So the people along the river would use power from the water to run most operations, and these mills and dams needed to be run and managed. This brought people into the area because as people needed jobs and a place to live, the cities and towns near this river had lots of both.
Many years ago, Brother Florentius (before he became a brother) and his family were one of these immigrant families that moved to Lawrence. He was originally from Quebec and his family moved to Lawrence when he was ten years old. His birth name was Joseph Ludge Poisson. Even as a young boy, Joseph always loved the ideas, practices, and beliefs of the Marist Brothers. In his later teenage years, Joseph decided to become a Marist Brother. Part of the process of becoming a Marist Brother is changing one’s name. This is why he was born with the name Joseph, but we know him as Brother Florentius.
During these times, there were not many schools. There were Catholic schools, but most were for only girls. He thought that boys deserved education just as much as girls. He spent many years trying to make a school for only boys. In 1926, Brother Florentius went to New York and became the founding Principal of Mount. St. Michael Academy. Brother Florentius made sure that this was originally an all boys school. After founding the school and helping the staff for six years, Brother Florentius came back to his home in Lawrence to start another school. He wanted to make another all boys Catholic school, but there was an issue: all the Catholic schools for boys around were for specific ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Brother Florentius wanted a relatively cheap school that any teenage boy in the area could apply to, regardless of background. So that is what he did. It took him three years, but in 1935 he founded Central Catholic. He decided to call the school Central Catholic to emphasize that it was a community for anyone and everyone was welcome.
Throughout the years, Central has changed in many ways. One of the biggest ways our school has changed is that it has become a school for both genders. Mr. Sullivan is a Campus Minister here at Central. When asked about this big change, he said, “Brother Florentius would be ecstatic about this change. In those times, there were a lot of all girls schools to go with their parishes. He said that there needed to be a Catholic school for boys. If there were less all-girls schools around, I think, Brother Florentius would have made us a co-ed school from the beginning. For us, we were a Catholic school for everybody and at the time there were no Catholic schools for boys.”
Another major change in the school is that now we pride ourselves in the number of sports we have and how well our athletes perform. In the beginning of Central Catholic, it was a big basketball school along with the other Catholic schools in the area, but it was not well-known for athletics as we are now. Asked about the balance between academics and athletics, Mr. Sullivan said, “I think Brother Florentius would prefer for there to be a little more balance between their academic lives and athletic lives. The part of him that dedicated his life to building schools would want there to be a little more balance between the two in the lives of our students. We always want that. But I do believe that the human part of him would be proud of the successes of our students athletically, theatrically, musically, and artistically.” Mr. Hart, another Campus Minister here at CCHS, acknowledged the value of athletics as he observed, “That is one way us humans grow. Sports can be another way for kids to experience community and God’s presence.” Brother Florentius would want students to have a good balance between their academics and athletic lives. But he would be happy that our school has is well known its athletics, academics, and community.
Over the years the community here at Central Catholic has gotten much bigger and stronger. Everyone here is one family. When this was brought up, Mr. Hart said, “I think that family spirit is such a key part of Marist life and what it is about to be Marist. I think it would mean a lot to him that we very intentionally try to continue that and create that and build on that family that he started.” The Central Catholic community is a strong one, and this is something Brother Florentius wanted for our school.
Central Catholic is a school for everyone. We follow the practices and beliefs of the Marist Brothers because of Brother Florentius. This is still a school that highlights the inclusion of everyone. No matter who you are or where you are from, you are welcome here. Over the years the school’s community has grown. There are students who live from a range of five minutes to an hour away. There are students from over thirty communities and three states in the 2025-2026 school year. The history of Central Catholic is more than most students realize. And it all started because of a river and an immigrant from Quebec.
