. i ; | A flurry of high class educational institutions opened in the parish within a short time frame. First came College in 1855 and two years later a convent school in the city's east end conducted by the Sisters of Notre Dame. St. Joseph's Convent school on opened in 1863, again conducted by the Notre Dame Sisters. In 1870 a new three- storey St. Patrick's School for boys (later ) began classes and the same year the new four-storey Notre Dame Academy on commenced its long and illustrious career. In the same time period efforts to combat the evils of liquor resulted in the founding of the St. Dunstan's Total Abstinence Society (1841), St. Patrick's Temperance Society (1874), the Catholic Total Abstinence Union (1877) and the League of the Cross (1888). One of the bright lights of the cathedral parish was the Charlottetown Hospital. Founded in 1879 in the former bishop's residence on , where the basilica sacristy now stands, it began under the direction of the Grey Nuns of Quebec . By 1890 it had moved to new quarters on ( Esplanade) where a new wing was added in 1903. A new hospital in 1925, plus a major addition in 1950, served the people admirably until its closure in 1981. In 1925 the old hospital was reassigned to become a residence for elderly people under the name of "Sacred Heart Home". In 1962 this gave way to a new brick Sacred Heart Home across which continued its dedicated service until its closure in the mid 1990s. Another institution within the parish was St. Vincent's Orphanage which began in 1910 and operated until the 1960s, for most of these 52 Our Parishes years under the management of the Sisters or Saint Martha. In 1962 the parish constructed the Basilica Recreation Centre which continues its operation on . Interior of first stone cathedral The cathedral parish has been a real mother in giving birth to four new parishes: Holy Redeemer (1929), St. Pius X (1956), Southport / Stratford (1963) and Cornwall (1978). Parish has had a long line of truly dedicated lay men and women who worked hand in hand with competent religious sisters and an impressive group of dedicated priests. The bishops have certainly added their own special presence. One parishioner, Dr. W. J. P. MacMillan , was premier of P.F.I , from 1933 to 1935. Another was William ( Billy Archie) MacDonald who was Lieutenant Governor from 1963 to 1969. The cathedral parish today counts 1,000 families, despite having had its boundaries gradually reduced over the years. The long tradition of devoted ministry continues. First stone cathedral, burned 1913