Academy of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic school located in Bloomfield Township,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

, near

Bloomfield Hills Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded on most sides by Bloomfi ...

. It is the oldest independent school in Michigan. Founded in 1851 in Detroit, the Academy moved to its campus in Bloomfield Township in 1958. It is a Catholic, college-preparatory school for young women from infancy through Grade 12 and for boys from infancy through Grade 8 of many cultures and faiths. The Academy is a member of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools, which includes 24 schools in the U.S.-Canada and an affiliation with the Society of the Sacred Heart in 41 countries around the world.

Background

Academy of the Sacred Heart was established by St.

Madeleine Sophie Barat Madeleine Sophie Barat, RSCJ, (12 December 1779 – 25 May 1865), is a French saint of the Catholic Church who founded the Society of the Sacred Heart, a worldwide religious institute of educators. Early life and family Barat was born on the nig ...

in 1851 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. The school moved to Bloomfield Township in 1958. In 1821 Father Gabriel Richard, a missionary in

visited Mother

Rose Philippine Duchesne Rose Philippine Duchesne, RSCJ (; August 29, 1769 – November 18, 1852), was a French religious sister and educator whom Pope John Paul II canonized in 1988. A native of France, she immigrated as a missionary to America, and is recognized for h ...

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle-class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population ...

. Father Richard asked Mother Duchesne to establish a group in Detroit. This initial request was denied. Father Richard's wish was not realized until 1848 when Madame Monique Beaubien wrote to Mother Hardy, Superior Provincial of the Society in New York, offering the Society of the Sacred Heart a piece of Beaubien property on Jefferson Avenue for an academy school, on the condition that orphans would also be educated at the institution. On the southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and St. Antoine Street a building was erected in 1861 at a cost exceeding $30,000. The building was built to accommodate 150 students and for 50 years this was the school. In 1918 the cornerstone from Jefferson Avenue was placed in its new location as a school was built on Lawrence Avenue. By the 1950s the population shifted northward and the relocation of the school was considered. Reverend Mother Katherine Wansboro bought in Bloomfield Township. The groundbreaking ceremonies were held in July 1957. The cornerstone, first blessed in 1861 at the original foundation on Jefferson Avenue, then moved to Lawrence Avenue, was now set in place in Bloomfield Township. The cornerstone was newly inscribed with “Built on Confidence in the Heart of Jesus.” The actual move into the new building took place on July 15, 1958.

Kensington Academy

Kensington Academy was a boy's elementary and middle school of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...

. The school opened on the campus of the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Township in 1969. It moved into its own campus in 1982.ACADEMY OF THE SACRED HEART IN BLOOMFIELD HILLS AND KENSINGTON ACADEMY IN BEVERLY HILLS ANNOUNCE MERGER

Archive
. Academy of the Sacred Heart. July 31, 2006. Retrieved on April 16, 2015. It initially occupied a campus in Bloomfield Township,U.S. Federal Communications Commission

Archive
. Booth Communications Bloomfield at the

U.S. Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

. Retrieved on April 16, 2015. p. 18/25. "Kensington Academy 1020 E. Square Lake Rd. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan" but toward the end of its life its facility was in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

. In 2006 the school announced that it was merging with the Academy of the Sacred Heart. The current Academy of the Sacred Heart's middle school for boys, "Kensington Hall," is named after the former Kensington Academy. "Kensington Hall" was founded in 2002.

International Academy The International Academy (IA) is a public school (government funded), public, Magnet school, magnet high school with its main campus located in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan, Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan, with ad ...

's Okma Campus occupies the former Kensington Academy campus in Bloomfield Township. The

Japanese School of Detroit The is a Saturday-only Japanese supplementary educational school in Metro Detroit. It is often called "Ringo Kai." As of December 2011 it has almost 800 students.Burden, Melissa. 'Little Tokyo' thrives in Novi as Japanese population expands" () ...

, a supplementary Japanese school serving Japanese nationals and

Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

, previously had its school office at Kensington Academy.

Notable people

Bonnie Brennan Bonnie Brennan (born c. 1973) is an American auction-house executive. She has been the CEO of Christie's since February 1, 2025. Prior to that, she had a 13-year career at Christie's, including four years as head of Christie's Americas. Before join ...

, CEO of

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

, graduated circa 1991. * Marilyn Fisher Lundy, businesswoman and philanthropist, graduated in 1942.

Notes and references

External links

School Website

Admissions Info

Kensington Academy
(Archive: content begins in 2003) {{authority control Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Catholic secondary schools in Michigan Educational institutions established in 1851 Private K–12 schools in Michigan Catholic elementary schools in Michigan High schools in Oakland County, Michigan 1851 establishments in Michigan Schools in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan Girls' schools in Michigan Sacred Heart schools in the United States