St. John Fisher School & Parish History

St. John Fisher Parish and St. John Fisher School were established in 1959 through the efforts of a campaign that began in 1956. The goal was to provide the Vermont neighborhood of Southwest Portland with a Catholic church and school to serve the needs of the growing Catholic community. For the first ten years, the church was housed in the school building in an area that is presently the school gym. The current church was built in 1968.

The first pastor of St. John Fisher Parish, Fr. Leland DeJardin, served in this capacity for many years. The school’s first principal and faculty were members of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. The school, staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis until 1982, is now staffed by lay personnel and one decon, who continue to carry out the charism of St. Francis of Assisi by serving the needs of the poor through prayer and community service. St. John Fisher School began with an enrollment of 175 students in grades one through five. In 1987, Fr. Wayne Forbes became pastor of the St. John Fisher Parish. The following year, the first School Advisory Council (SAC) was established and several needed facility upgrades were made. The school began a kindergarten program in 1990 in order to serve grades kindergarten through eight.  In 2010, Monsignor Tim Murphy became pastor of the St. John Fisher Parish until 2012. Currently, Fr. Richard Thompson is the pastor. 

St. John Fisher School was built in 1959 and is a two-story building. It houses classrooms for grades kindergarten through eight, a gym, a cafeteria, a computer lab, a library, a conference room, and offices. In 1994, a new wing was added to the upper floor that includes the library, kindergarten classroom, and a conference room.

On April 20th, 2021, the Corrado Family Center was built. This beautiful building is located directly across from SJF School and houses a large meeting hall with a full kitchen, parish office space, St. Vincent DePaul food pantry, and the parish sacristy.