Central Catholic High School is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

college prep school located in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. It is the only archdiocesan high school in the Archdiocese of Portland.

History

Central Catholic was founded 1934 by Archbishop Edward Howard as a diocesan high school for boys. In 1930, St. Mary's Cemetery was closed and the interments were relocated, mostly to Mount Calvary, and Central Catholic High School was built on the site of the old cemetery. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Central Catholic High School recruited players from all over the Portland metro area and faced significant challenges in securing funding to build the high school. However, Archbishop Howard visited all of the Portland parishes to raise funding, and a carnival benefit was held to raise more; moreover, in 1938, a generous

bequest A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

of $20,000 was left to the school by Susan Kratz, providing the necessary resources for the project to move forward and making it possible to open the school in 1939. It was dedicated on May 9, 1939, and opened with about 125 freshman and sophomore students. The first principal was Father Francis Schaefers. Initially the school operated on a pay-as-you-go basis, meeting its expenses with its tuition, which was $50 a year. Overhead was low because many classes were taught by the diocesan priests, who did not take salaries, and by sisters from different congregations, who were paid $50 a month. While teaching, many of the priests continued their education at universities such as the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

, Dominican College of San Rafael, and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. Central Catholic became a co-ed high school in the 1980s. It accepted the first co-ed students as freshmen and sophomores for the 1980–81 school year. The first co-ed class graduated in 1983. As part of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the company received between $2 million and $5 million in federally backed small business loan from Customers Bank as part of the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...

. The company stated it would allow them to retain 143 jobs.

Notable alumni

* Blake Brandel, NFL

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

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

* Brady Breeze, NFL

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

* Joey Harrington, former NFL

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

* Rich McCormick, U.S. Representative for

Georgia's 6th congressional district Georgia's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. , it is represented by Democrat Lucy McBath. History Georgia's 6th congressional district has existed since the 29th Congress (1845–1847), the ...

* Kitan Oladapo, NFL

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

* Galen Rupp, Professional Runner * Cameron Scarlett, NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

* Eric Ueland, former White House Director of Legislative Affairs

References

{{authority control Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon Catholic secondary schools in Oregon High schools in Portland, Oregon Educational institutions established in 1939 Schools accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission 1939 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures in Buckman, Portland, Oregon