Academy of Our Lady and Spalding Institute were

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s across the street from each other in downtown

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

. The Academy (AOL), a

girls' school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

, traced its lineage back to 1863. The Spalding Institute (SI), the

boys' school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

, was founded in 1899 by the Franciscan Brothers of

Mountbellew Mountbellew or Mountbellew Bridge (historically ''Creggaun'', from ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies mostly within the townland of Treanrevagh (''Trian Riabhach'') on the N63 national primary road. The town has a population of ap ...

, Ireland, at the invitation of John Lancaster Spalding, the first Bishop of Peoria. It was one of the communities which left that

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religio ...

to split off and become part of the

Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance The Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance or simply the Third Order Regular of St. Francis ( la, Tertius Ordo Regularis Sancti Francisci) is a mendicant order rooted in the Third Order of St. Francis which was founded in 1221. The mem ...

, based in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy. The schools merged into one co-educational school, Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute in 1973. AOL/SI (also known as Academy/Spalding) was merged with Bergan High School to form Peoria Notre Dame High School in 1988, and the campus was closed at the end of the 1988–1989 school year. Father Sweeney School for the Academically Gifted was also housed at the Spalding Institute building until its closure in the early 2000s. Joe Girardi is an alum of both schools, Father Sweeney middle school, and Spalding Institute high school. Buildings on the campus are

contributing properties In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

of the North Side Historic District.

Notable alumni

* Archbishop

Fulton J. Sheen Fulton John Sheen (born Peter John Sheen, May 8, 1895 – December 9, 1979) was an American bishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in 1 ...

(SI, 1913) Venerable Sheen to be beatified; in his bio he recalls it run by the Brothers of Mary. * Archbishop

Gerald Thomas Bergan Gerald Thomas Bergan (January 26, 1892 – July 12, 1972) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa (1934–1948) and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha in Nebraska ...

(SI) * Pete Vonachen (SI) * General

Wayne A. Downing Wayne Allan Downing (May 10, 1940 – July 18, 2007) was a four-star United States Army general born in Peoria, Illinois. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 and held a Master of Busine ...

(SI) *Actor

Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he is a two-tim ...

(1913) *Actress

Marian Driscoll Jordan Marian Irene Driscoll Jordan (April 15, 1898 – April 7, 1961) was an American actress and radio personality. She was most remembered for portraying the role of Molly McGee, the patient, common sense, honey-natured wife of Fibber McGee on the NB ...

(AOL 1915) * Brigadier General Frank Rezac (SI, 1962) *

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

and U.S. Transportation Secretary

Ray LaHood Raymond H. LaHood (born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the I ...

(SI, 1963) * Congressman Darin LaHood (AOL/SI, 1986) *

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

chemist Timothy L. Mounts *

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

manager

Joe Girardi Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. ...

(AOL/SI) * Jim Ardis (SI, 1977)

References

1899 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures in Peoria, Illinois Education in Peoria, Illinois Educational institutions established in 1863 Educational institutions established in 1899 Educational institutions disestablished in 1988 Defunct Catholic secondary schools in Illinois Former high schools in Illinois Historic district contributing properties in Illinois Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria Schools in Peoria County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Peoria County, Illinois {{authority control