St. Therese Chinese Catholic School

[1] It was originally opened on September 3, 1941 by Reverend John T. S. Mao at the On Leong Merchants' Association Building at 22nd Place and Wentworth.

[4] The school started with two large classrooms and 4 total rooms in the building, with the aim to provide a Catholic education to the Chinatown community.

A full curriculum was taught to all these classes, along with additional offered courses in typing, sewing, crafts, music, and shorthand.

[6] Father Mao explained part of his reasoning for starting a summer school program was because many parents of the students joined war industries and had limited options for childcare.

[9] The classrooms had become overcrowded and almost half of the student body had to travel to St. Paul's school at 2124 22nd Place in order to attend classes.

Reverend Frederick J. Becka, appointed St. Therese Church's pastor in 1956, concentrated on acquiring a singular new building for the school.

[1] This was paired with the Our Lady of Angels School fire in December 1958, where St. Therese's On Leong Building classrooms were condemned as unsafe.

Additionally fundraisers, dinners, bazaars, and performances were conducted to aid both with funding and relieving debt after the building was constructed.

The exterior of the school had gold anodized aluminum Chinese characters, a glass façade with red and green porcelain, and pointed up eaves on the roof that resembled a pagoda.

[20] Both school and churches completed merging in 2019 under the St. Therese name, when the first full academic year with both campuses started.

It has participated in a school bazaar, the Chicago parade for Taiwan's 10/10 independence day parade, the Chicago Chinatown Summer Fair, Chinese New Year celebrations, and a yearly fundraiser dinner[18][12][21][22][23] St. Therese's current principal is Lisa Deborah Oi.