Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

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 (often referred to as Providence, Provi, or abbreviated PCHS) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

secondary 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 ...

located in New Lenox, Illinois. Located in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet The Diocese of Joliet in Illinois ( la, Diœcesis Joliettensis in Illinois) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the state of Illinois in the United States. The Diocese of Joliet in Illinois is a su ...

, Providence Catholic is a private school run by the Order of Saint Augustine and is a member of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association.. The school is located at the crossroads of

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 191 ...

(also part of U.S. Highway 30) and Interstate 80.

History

Providence Catholic High School began as St. Mary Academy for Girls, a commercial school in Joliet,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

run by the Sisters of Loretto. The school opened in 1880, though the original building was not opened until 1883. Eventually, academic classes were added. In 1918, the Archdiocese of Chicago invited the Sisters of Providence to take over the school. On October 22 of that year, the school's name was changed to Providence High School. In 1931, the academic classes were stopped as the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

took its toll on the school. In 1932, the school reverted to a two-year commercial school. A four-year secretarial program opened in 1938. Though the academic courses were reinstated after the Depression, the school building was condemned as a fire hazard in 1959 and demolished. From 1959 through 1962, the school met at St. Mary Nativity Elementary School. When the old building was demolished, it is said that students sifted through the wreckage looking for bricks that were not crushed. They wrapped the bricks and sold them as souvenirs to help build the new Providence. In 1962, the modern Providence High School was opened. The most obvious change was location: the school had left Joliet and was now located a few miles to the east in

New Lenox New Lenox is a village in central Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago and an eastern suburb of Joliet. The village population was 27,214 as of 2020. New Lenox has schools like Lincoln-Way West High Schoo ...

. The other major change was the shift to a coed school. Though Providence was a relatively new school, the community of New Lenox was not heavily populated then. Enrollment decreased, and the school began suffering financially. Father Roger Kaffer (later Bishop Kaffer) was named the new principal and arrived in 1970. He began a campaign to improve the academic standing of the school and the transportation options for students traveling great distances. It was his practice to visit every family that had a child enrolled in the school. The 1971 enrollment was 490; by 1975, it had reached 785. Growth during the late 1970s and early 1980s made additions to the school building necessary. The Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel, the Midwest U.S. province of the Order of Saint Augustine, was invited by the diocese to take control of the school after the 1984–85 school year. A college preparatory curriculum was added, as was a refocus on the spiritual mission of the school. The religious studies course work was upgraded, and a retreat program was begun. The name of the school was changed to "Providence Catholic High School" in 1985 to reflect these changes. In 1998, the school decided to limit enrollment in order to retain a more personal atmosphere with students. The school has added 55,000 square feet to the original building with the addition of a science and fine arts wing in 2002 and a Student Commons Addition in 2018. Today the school sits on 75 acres with three campuses. In 2018 the school celebrated its 100th Anniversary as Providence Catholic High School.

Academics

Providence is a college preparatory school, and uses a weighted grading system. The school offers eighteen

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

courses:

English Language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

Statistics Statistics (from German: '' Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, indust ...

, Calculus (AB), Calculus (BC),

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

, U.S. History, U.S. Government & Politics, European History,

Psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

Spanish Language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...

, Music Theory, Advanced Placement Computer Science and Studio Art.

Student life

Clubs & Activities

The school's activities involves several departments in and out of the fine arts program that tours in and out of state for competitions and exhibition performances. In addition to competitive units, it also includes clubs for recreational purposes and/or volunteering around their local communities. Some after school clubs that aren't competitive includes programs such as Celtic Pipers Corps, Math Team, The International Club, jazz band,

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

, and many more. The more competitive programs includes the

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, o ...

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion fami ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, winter guard,

Esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional sports, professional players, individually or as ...

, and several other teams. The marching band started their first competitive season in 2006 and since then, had received awards and recognition in several fields in local/regional, state, and national competitions such as Bands of America. They also have performed at the halftime show of the 2010 Outback Bowl. The marching band placed in states competition in their classification for the first time in the school's history at Illinois State University in class 2A in 2019. For the 2020-2021 school year, with several closures and cancellations of on-site competitions due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

, the marching band participated through virtual competitions that were hosted through USBands and The Cavaliers GearWORKS. In October 31, 2020, the marching band placed 1st for the state of Illinois in class 1A through USBands. In November 7, 2020, they placed 3rd place in the nation in class 1A with first place in the Visual caption and overall Midwest Regional Champions. In the 2021 marching band season, the band placed 2nd in States in class 2A and made school history by performing in Finals for the first time at ISU placing 15th. The winter guard first started their competitive program in 2002, in which they compete in the MidWest Color Guard Circuit (also known as MWCGC, a local circuit that uses the WGI competing format, and utilizes several similar competing rules and regulations), where they currently are in class SRA. During the 2021 season, they competed virtually through the MidWest Color Guard Circuit, MAIN through USBands, and WGI. They ended their season with an Excellent rating through MAIN, silver medal for beginner soloist performance, and a gold medal through MWCGC. The choir, jazz, and concert band departments performs in performances through ILMEA, IHSA, Midwest Music Festival, and Music for All in which they have several awards and medals for both groups and solo performances. *Marching Band: ISU States; 2nd Place (2019,2021 Class 2A), USBands IL State Championships 1st place (2020 Class 1A), USBands National Championships 3rd place, (2020 Class 1A) *Winter Guard: MWCGC , SRA Division; 2nd Place (2013, 2014, 2015), 1st Place (2003) , SRA-Red Division; 3rd Place (2016) , Small Ensemble Beginner; Gold Medalist (2021) , Solo Beginner; Silver Medalist (2021)

Athletics

Providence Catholic High School holds a record 31 team state championships. No other private High School in Illinois has more. The Providence Celtics compete in two conferences. Men's teams compete in the

Chicago Catholic League The Chicago Catholic League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. All of the schools are part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports. While some ...

(CCL), while the women compete in th
Girls Catholic Athletic Conference
(GCAC). Providence competes in state tournaments sponsored by the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fe ...

(IHSA). The school sponsors teams for men and women in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. Men may also compete in

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 t ...

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

, football,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

. Women may compete in

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. In 2016, the hockey team won their second Kennedy Cup against rival

Benet Academy Benet Academy ( ) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Benedictine high school in Lisle, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Diocese of Joliet. Founded in 1886, the school was initially established in Chicago as the all-boys St. Proco ...

. In 2017, the Skating Celtics won their 3rd Kennedy Cup against Fenwick 6-2 in game 2 of the best of 3 final. In the 2017 Kennedy Cup playoffs, the Providence Varsity did not lose a game, going 6-0, sweeping the opening, semi-final, and final series in the prestigious 6 team tournament. The Providence Catholic Baseball team won a state championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective state tournament sponsored by the IHSA. Top four finishes and state titles: *Baseball: 2nd Place (2010–11); State Champions (1977–78, 1981–82, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015-16) At the end of the 2015-16 baseball season, they became the first team in the state of Illinois to win three state championships in a row. *Basketball (boys): 3rd place (1977–78); State Champions (1978–79) *Football (boys): 2nd place (1998, 2000, 2010); State Champions (1987, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2014) *Cheerleading: 3rd place (2010-2011, 2013–14); 2nd place (2006–07, 2015–16); State Champions (2012–13) *Dance: 3rd Place (2013-2014) State Champions (2020-2021) *Golf (girls): 4th place (1989–90, 1990–91) *Ice hockey (Varsity): White division State Champions 2009, Kennedy Cup champions 2014, 2016, and 2017, 2014 Final Four Red division, National Championship finalists 2014, state second place red division 2016, state second place 2017 *Ice hockey (Junior Varsity): Kennedy Cup Champions 2010-11, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015–2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018 State Champions 2010-2011, 2013-2014, 2014–2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017 *Pom-Poms: 3rd Place (2013–14); State Champions (2020-2021) *Soccer (boys): 2nd place (2002–03) *Softball (girls): 3rd place (2011-2012) *Track & Field (boys): 2nd place (2012–13) *Track & Field (girls): 4th place (1981–82); 3rd place (1979–80); 2nd place (1980–81); State Champions (1977–78) *Volleyball (boys): 4th place (2007–08) *Volleyball (girls): 3rd place (1988–89) *Golf (boys): 4th place (2014–15) *Wrestling (boys):4th place (2015-2016) 3rd place (1976-1977, 1986-1987, 1992-1993, 1993-1994, 1995-1996,2017-2018) 2nd place (1979-1980, 1980-1981, 1987-1988, 1989-1990, 2002-2003, 2003–2004, 2007-2008); State Champions (1977-1978, 1980-1981, 1987-1988, 1988-1989, 1996-1997, 1997-1998, 1998-1999, 1999-2000, 2000–2001, 2001-2002)

Providence Catholic Children's Academy

The school also houses th
Providence Catholic Children's Academy
which is for ages 3–5. Three- and four-year-olds may partake in half-day

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

classes, while five-year-olds may take full-day

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

Notable alumni

Pete Bercich Peter James Bercich (born December 23, 1971) is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame. He played five seasons for the NFL's Minnesota Vik ...

(class of 1990) was an NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who spent his entire career (1995–98, 2000) with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

* Miles Boykin (class of 2015), wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers * Master Sergeant Israel Del Toro Jr. (class of 1993) recipient of the Pat Tillman Award at the 25th ESPY Awards * Walt Downing (class of 1981) was an NBA draft pick after being named Illinois' first Mr. Basketball, drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the sixth round of the NBA draft in 1986 *

Tavaras Hardy Tavaras Hardy is an American college basketball coach, and current head coach of the Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball team. Playing career Hardy was a two-time All-Big Ten selection while playing at Northwestern from 1998 to 2002 and ranks i ...

(class of 1998), Head Basketball Coach University of Loyola Maryland * Yvette Healy (class of 1995), Head Softball Coach University of Wisconsin-Madison *

Carmen Pignatiello Carmen Peter Pignatiello (born September 12, 1982) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher and independent league pitching coach. He is a graduate of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois. He is currently working as an in ...

(class of 2000) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

pitcher who has pitched for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

(2008). *

Bryan Rekar Bryan Robert Rekar (born June 3, 1972) is a former American professional baseball pitcher who played for the Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) during an 8-year career. Career Colorado R ...

(class of 1990) was a

pitcher (1995–2002). * Eric Steinbach (class of 1998) was an NFL

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that ...

who played for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

* Sam Travis (class of 2011), first baseman for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

* Sean Bormet (class of 1989), Head Wrestling Coach

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

* Brad Guzan (class of 2003) is a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

who has played for

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

and now Atlanta United of Major League Soccer, the US National Team, Aston Villa and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

References

External links

Providence Catholic Home Page

Midwest Augustinians - Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel

Order of St Augustine, International Homepage

Augnet
International Cooperative Web Site for Schools in the Tradition of St. Augustine {{authority control Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois Catholic secondary schools in Illinois Augustinian schools Educational institutions established in 1880 Schools in Will County, Illinois 1880 establishments in Illinois