Holy Child Academy or "HCA", colloquially pronounced as , is a secondary school run by the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pagadian The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pagadian (Lat: ''Dioecesis Pagadianensis'') is a Roman Rite diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Created on November 12, 1971, the diocese was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Zamb ...

in Pagadian City, Philippines. HCA is the oldest among the Diocesan Schools of Pagadian and the second oldest school in

Zamboanga del Sur Zamboanga del Sur ( Cebuano: ''Habagatang Zamboanga;'' Subanen: ''S'helatan Sembwangan/Sembwangan dapit Shelatan''; Chavacano: ''Zamboanga del Sur''; tl, Timog Zamboanga; mdh, Pagabatan Sambuanga), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Sur, ...

Brief history

Founded as Pagadian Academy, a parochial school started by Fr. Jose Ma. Reyes of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1940. The Academy was the second school to open in the Province of Zamboanga del Sur after the Southern Mindanao Colleges. As the first sectarian school, the Academy pioneered

Catholic education Catholic education may refer to: * Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Catholic Church or organisations affiliated with it * Catholic university, private university run by the Catholic Church or organisations affili ...

in the province. With the departure of the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

from Pagadian, the

Missionary Society of St. Columban The Missionary Society of St. Columban ( la, Societas Sancti Columbani pro Missionibus ad Exteros) (abbreviated as S.S.C.M.E. or SSC), commonly known as the Columbans, is a missionary Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right foun ...

took control of the Academy until the 1970s when the

took over. The academy shared the same fate with other Columban-controlled schools; namely, the Star of the Sea High School, Immaculate Heart Academy, and

Saint Columban College Saint Columban College is a private, Catholic, coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pagadian in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. Founded in 1957 as Saint Columban School, it is th ...

. The four schools started the now collectively known as the Diocesan Schools of Pagadian with fourteen other schools. In the 1980s, the Academy became the Holy Child Academy, named after the "

Holy Child The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, ...

", also known as the "Child Jesus" or Sto. Niño,

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of Pagadian.

Campuses

The Academy has two campuses, both in Barangay San Jose of the city. *High school campus **Previously served as the grade school campus of

and later as the Hangop Kabataan Center ( Cebuano for "Embrace the Child Center"), a school for children with special needs. The high school campus houses the new high school building completed in 2011 and since August 2014, also the preschool. *Old high school campus **Located beside the San Jose Parish Church.

References

External links

Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines

Social network on Ning
{{coord missing, Philippines Schools in Zamboanga del Sur Catholic elementary schools in the Philippines Catholic secondary schools in the Philippines Schools in Pagadian