Aquinas High School was a grades 9-12

parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to: * Parishes, in religion ** Parish churches, also called parochial churches * Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation * Parochialism Parochialism is the ...

high school located in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

suburb of

Southgate Southgate or South Gate may refer to: Places Australia *Southgate, Sylvania *Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria Canada *Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County * Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario Ed ...

History

Built under the joint effort of three local church parishes, St. Aloysius in Romulus, MI, St. Pius X in Southgate and Christ the Good Shepherd in Lincoln Park, classes for the first incoming freshman class began in 1966 at St. Pius X elementary school in Southgate while the high school building was nearing completion. The first senior class graduated in 1970. Class sizes averaged around 300 students in the 1970s, and 200 students throughout the 1980s, with a full curriculum. However, various departments began phasing out about this time, beginning with the marching band program. The school eventually closed in 2001 due to declining enrollment (only 81 students comprised the four grade levels combined), and reduced funding from the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

. Upon closure, remaining students were sent to other

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 schools in the area, primarily Mount Carmel High School in Wyandotte, MI, Cabrini High School in Allen Park, MI, and

Gabriel Richard Catholic High School Gabriel Richard Catholic High School, usually referred to as Gabriel Richard or simply GR, is a Catholic, coed high school in Riverview, Michigan, United States, south of Detroit. Named after Father Gabriel Richard, the school was established ...

in Riverview, MI. The Aquinas Auditorium was also host to many up and coming rock acts of the early 70's including

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

as Aquinas was one of the few venues that would book such acts at the time.

Current

The building currently houses a few organizations, including The Guidance Center, which offers many free programs based out of the Aquinas Building including a Head Start program, which is a pre-school for low-income families.

Alumni

Among its graduates through the years were

Paul Assenmacher Paul Andre Assenmacher (born December 10, 1960) is a former left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for fourteen seasons. Assenmacher pitched for the Atlanta Braves (1986–1989), Chicago Cubs (1989–1993), New York Yankees ...

, a left-handed

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher for several MLB clubs in the 1980s and 1990s that included World Series appearances,

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his r ...

former

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

and

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

superstar,

Mike Jolly Michael Anthony Joseph Jolly (born March 19, 1958) is a former American football player. He played professional football as a defensive back for the Green Bay Packers from 1980 to 1983. He also played college football for the University of Michig ...

, and James R. Downing, MD, president and CEO of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

References

{{coord, 42, 12, 43.5, N, 83, 12, 48.7, W, region:US-MI_type:edu, display=title Educational institutions established in 1966 Educational institutions disestablished in 2001 Defunct schools in Michigan Madonna University 1966 establishments in Michigan Defunct Catholic secondary schools in Michigan