Dr. J. W.Hose,  a Catholic convert, had actively urged Bishop Adrian to support the Negro community.  History shows that Bishop Adrian was not fully disposed towards equity for the Negro; he was entrenched in the restrictive beliefs (for people of color) of his era.  Dr. Hose was the true supporter.

By August 14, 1937, the parish had been named St. Augustine, because the title was used when an agreement was signed with the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque, Iowa to conduct a school for the new parish.

A Foundation Laid for Education
Father Bertrand worked hard to assemble second-hand furnishings--as was the custom for even state-run educational institutions for people of color.  And, on August 18, two of the 600 Sisters who had volunteered to teach "colored children" in Memphis, arrived to assess the three-story building that Father Bertrand had fasioned as the Catholic School and Convent. 

Ultimately, four Sisters were chosen and approved as the new faculty.  Ironically, the Sisters were met with unexpected hostility from whites, who were less than excited about the prospect of Negroes being educated.

The first Mass celebrated at the new parish by Fr. Bertrand was on August 28, 1937, the Feast Day of St. Augustine. On September 5, 1937, Bishop Adrian visited the new parish and officially installed Fr. Bertrand as Pastor.

In September, 1937, St. Augustine's School opened to 90 students, and by the end of October it had an enrollment of 131. 

Two thirds of the children in the school professed a faith other than Catholic.  Four classrooms accommodated eight grades on the second floor of the building. Catholic students paid $1 a month tuition; children of other faiths were charged $2 a month. 

"Father B" Fills Pews
Slowly there was growth.  In the beginning, the new parish had about 32 adult Catholics who had come from St. Anthony Parish, but through the school and convert classes, its membership quickly increased. During the first year, Fr. Bertrand baptized 145 men, women and children. The number of parishioners by the end of the year was about 300.  In the following years, the average number of converts was 70 persons.

During these years, Fr. Bertrand went regularly to dead-end streets to preach and, on some evenings, showed movies and slides to children and their parents.  Eventually, he was stopped by the police who used anti-noise laws as the reason for bringing the outdoor catechizing efforts to an end.

The first class graduated from St. Augustine High School in 1944.  Fr. Rene, OFM, designed and built a two-story annex to the school in 1944-45. As the school expanded, five "gunshot" houses were purchased in 1946 and 1947 and converted into classrooms. 

By 1948, the number of BVM Sisters staffing the school had increased from four to fourteen, and the children in the grade school and high school totaled 570.

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