St. Viator College was a Catholic

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

Bourbonnais, Illinois Bourbonnais ( ) is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,164 at the 2020 census. History The village is named for François Bourbonnais Sr., a fur trapper, hunter and agent of the American Fur Company, who ...

. It is no longer in operation. Today, the site is home to

Olivet Nazarene University Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a private Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. In the late 1930 ...

History

St. Viator's grew out of the original

Bourbonnais Bourbonnais () was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''département'' of Cher. Its capital was Moulins. History The title of the ruler of Bourbonnais ...

village school, founded in 1865 by the

Viatorian The Clerics of Saint Viator (french: Clercs de Saint-Viateur ), abbreviated C.S.V. and also known as the Viatorians is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (priest, brothers and lay associates) founded in ...

s, to an

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

for boys with the help of Father P. Beaudoin and Brothers Martel and Bernard, and on 9/6/1868 to a four-year

with the aid of Father Thomas Roy. After nine years of work, Father Roy returned to his home in Canada, and was succeeded by Father M. J. Marsile, who oversaw the college for another 25 years. In 1906, several buildings were destroyed by fire, but courses continued in improvised quarters and new buildings were erected. Father Marsile afterward resigned, and Reverend John Patrick O'Mahoney C.S.V. was appointed president. Under financial pressure, it closed in 1939.

Campus

Roy Memorial Chapel was named for Father Thomas Roy, who served as president of the college. Marsile Alumni Hall was named in honour of Father M. J. Marsile, who was college president for 25 years. After St. Viator's closed in 1938, the campus was purchased by

Olivet Nazarene College Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a Private university, private Church of the Nazarene, Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east- ...

from

Olivet, Illinois Olivet is a census-designated place in Elwood Township, Vermilion County, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropol ...

. Four buildings on the Olivet Nazarene campus are original from the days of St. Viator's 39-

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

campus.

Academics

St. Viator College had a preparatory department and high school in addition to the college and seminary and, for most of its years, had an enrollment of over 300 students.

Student life

During its existence, St. Viator was the host of the Catholic State Basketball Tournament for Illinois. St. Viator College was a member of the

Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) was a college athletic conference that existed from 1908 to 1970 in the United States. At one time the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or IIAC, was a robust league that clai ...

from 1916 to 1938.

Notable persons

Many of the college's graduates were priests, but even more entered the professions of law and medicine. Notable alumni included

John Tracy Ellis John Tracy Ellis (July 30, 1905 – October 16, 1992) was a Catholic Church historian and priest, born and raised in Seneca, Illinois, USA. Ellis was ordained a priest and received a doctorate in history from Catholic University of America in Wash ...

, Sam J. McAllister,

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 ...

, G. Raymond Sprague, Bernard James Sheil. and Joseph James Smith, youngest son of the notorious gangster and con artist "Soapy" Smith."Soapy's son James" ''Soapy Smith Soap Box'', May 8, 2010.
/ref> Graduates entering the entertainment field include

Jack Berch Jack Berch (August 26, 1907 or 1911Grunwald, Edgar A., Ed. (1940). ''Variety Radio Directory 1940-1941''. Variety, Inc. P. 877. – December 10, 1992) was an American baritone singer best known for his radio variety/talk programsDeLong, Thomas A. ...

, popular singer and personality on four networks during the

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment, entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcastin ...

References

External links

"PREPAREDNESS IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS" by JOSEPH F. SMITH. ''New York Times'', August 26, 1917, Sunday. Section: Instruction, Page 68, 1338 words
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Viator College Defunct Christian universities and colleges Educational institutions established in 1865 Defunct private universities and colleges in Illinois Educational institutions disestablished in 1939 Former Catholic universities and colleges in the United States Burned buildings and structures in the United States 1865 establishments in Illinois 1939 disestablishments in Illinois Catholic universities and colleges in Illinois Education in Kankakee County, Illinois