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Holy Cross 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 ...
school serving grades pre-K through 12 in
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. It was founded in 1849 by the
Congregation of Holy Cross The Congregation of Holy Cross (), abbreviated CSC, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in 1837 by Basil Moreau, in Le Mans, France. Moreau also founded the Marianites of Holy Cross for women, n ...
. Holy Cross School was originally named St. Isidore's College and was a boarding and day school. Holy Cross School is located in the
Archdiocese of New Orleans The Archdiocese of New Orleans (; ; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church spanning Jefferson (except Grand Isle), Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, and Washingto ...
.


History

In 1849 the Brothers, Priests and Sisters of Holy Cross arrived in New Orleans after they had established 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 ...
in
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
, and took over an orphanage for the boys and girls who survived a plague. The orphanage, along with the first Ursuline School for Girls (the oldest Catholic School in America), was destroyed to make room for the 1923 Industrial Canal, which experienced levee failures that flooded large parts of New Orleans twice, with
Hurricane Betsy Hurricane Betsy was an intense, deadly and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida, the Bahamas, and the central United States Gulf Coast in September 1965. The storm's erratic nature, coupled with ...
in 1965 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In 1871, Holy Cross moved to its historic site, which then was a farm named St. Isidore's farm, on 4950 Dauphine Street, and built a renowned "collegiate-styled campus" and established in 1879 its current school, bordered by the high
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
levee. The area has since become a Federal Historic District known as the Holy Cross Historic District. First chartered by the
State of Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25th i ...
in 1890, the name was changed to Holy Cross in 1895 when the Administration Building was dedicated. A boarding program, which continued until 1973, attracted as many as 150 students annually from across the South as well as from Central and South America. Prior to 2015 Holy Cross had grades 5–12. The archdiocese began requiring schools to fit one of three grade configurations (PK-7, 8–12, or PK-12) in order to continue affiliation, and Holy Cross needed to change its grade configuration. The school administration decided for the school to become PK-12.


Holy Cross relocation

With
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
, the campus was flooded with waters from the levee failures on the Industrial Canal and levees "over-topped" by storm surge along the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), which destroyed the area in August 2005. The school relocated to the Gentilly/7th Ward neighborhood of New Orleans at 5500 Paris Avenue, the campuses of the former St. Francis Cabrini Parish and
Redeemer-Seton High School Redeemer-Seton High School was a Catholic Catholic school, high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was permanently closed after Hurricane Katrina damaged the campus in September 2005. A formal honorary commencement ceremony was held for Katrina ...
. The new location of Holy Cross High School includes a high school, middle school, preschool, elementary school, athletic facilities, and an administration building. The Advisory Committee of the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries chose Holy Cross to receive a $50,000 grant to purchase books for the school's library. First Lady Laura Bush visited Holy Cross on Thursday, April 19, 2007, to present the 14 grantees in Mississippi and Louisiana, including Holy Cross, with the donation. The former campus in the Lower Ninth Ward sits abandoned and plans for its renovation have not come to fruition.


Athletics

Holy Cross currently competes in Class 5A of the
Louisiana High School Athletic Association The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) is the agency that regulates and promotes the interscholastic athletic competitions of all high schools in the state of Louisiana. Organization LHSAA was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana i ...
. Holy Cross School fields teams and competitors in many sports. The school currently offers soccer, karate, football, basketball, tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, swimming, wrestling, power lifting, track and field, and cross country. Athletics history
Holy Cross was the first school in the New Orleans area to field a football team post-Katrina in late September of the 2005 football season.


Championships

Basketball championships *(1) State Championships: 1939 Football championships *(2) State Championships: 1945, 1963 Swimming championships *(9) State Championships: 2009, 2010, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Championship history
The Tigers were the 1939 state basketball champions. They again made the championship game in 1974 but lost to Brother Martin. Holy Cross has won the Louisiana State Wrestling Championship 25 times. They have also had a total of 207 individual state champions and 192 state runner-up finishes. Twenty-two of those titles were won during the 24-year period of 1945 to 1968; 1951 and 1966 were the only years in this period when the state championship was not won by the Tigers. The latest championship was won in 200


Rivals

Holy Cross football vs. Jesuit football is one of the oldest continuous high school rivalry in Louisiana. The first game was played in 1922 (which Jesuit won 52–0). The two teams have played every year since, including twice in 1963 (once in regular season and again for the state crown, which Holy Cross won). The Tigers have also had a long rivalry with
Chalmette High School Chalmette High School is a public secondary school in the unincorporated Chalmette area of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a part of St. Bernard Parish Public Schools. History The history of Chalmette High School began ...
, owing to Holy Cross' former location in the Lower 9th Ward and its large student population from neighboring
St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (; ) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette, Louisiana, Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of the New Or ...
. Chalmette and Holy Cross were rivals in the
New Orleans Catholic League The Catholic League ( LHSAA district 9-5A) is a high school sports league in the Greater New Orleans area. History The history of the Catholic League can be traced back to 1895, but the first season of the Catholic League as we know it was in 1 ...
from 1968 through 1988.


Primary school

In March 2014, Holy Cross School announced that they will open a primary school and become a Pre-K through 12 school. Holy Cross is the only all-boys Catholic school in the Greater New Orleans area to offer a comprehensive Pre-K through 12th grade education. Holy Cross Primary School opened to all grades (Pre-K through 4) in the fall of 2015.


Notable alumni

* Joe Aillet
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
football coach at
Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...
* Roland Barbay – former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
tackle *
Donald Boesch Donald F. Boesch (born November 14, 1945) is a professor of marine science and, from 1990 to 2017, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. From 2006-2017, he concurrently served as Vice Chancellor for Environment ...
– biologist/environmental scientist *
Tony Bouie Tony Vanderson Bouie (born August 7, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats, earning consensus All-A ...
– former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
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 ...
*
Sam Butera Sam Butera (August 17, 1927 – June 3, 2009) was an American tenor saxophonist and singer best noted for his collaborations with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Butera is frequently regarded as a crossover artist who performed with equal ease in bo ...
– Musician/Saxophone player * Gregory G. Colomb – Professor of English at the University of Virginia * Leroy Chollet – former NBA player * Ed Eagan – former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
* Peter Fos – President, University of New Orleans (2012-2016) *
Ray Garofalo Raymond Edward Garofalo Jr. (born September 1958) is a commercial developer and non-practicing lawyer, attorney from Meraux, Louisiana, Meraux, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, St. Bernard Parish in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana, who is a Republ ...
– Louisiana state representative from St. Bernard Parish * Joe Heap – Academic All American, University of Notre Dame, former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
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 ...
* Ray Hester – former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
* Billy Kennedy – basketball head coach,
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
* Anthony Laciura – actor and opera singer *
John Larroquette John Bernard Larroquette (; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' (1984–1992; 2023–2025) for ...
– film, stage, and Emmy Award-winning television actor (Fr, Soph) *
Hank Lauricella Francis Edward Lauricella, known as Hank Lauricella (October 9, 1930 – March 25, 2014), was an American real estate developer from suburban New Orleans, Louisiana, a college football player, and a member of both houses of the Louisiana State ...
– college football legend, former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
player, real estate mogul, and member of both houses of
Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (; ) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral legislature, body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 ...
from
Jefferson Parish Jefferson Parish () is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 440,781. Its parish seat is Gretna, its largest community is Metairie, and its largest incorporated city is Kenner. Jefferson Parish i ...
from 1964 to 1996 * Santiago Rodriguez – Van Cliburn Silver Medalist, Concert Pianist *
Barryn Sorrell Barryn Sorrell (born December 22, 2002) is an American professional football defensive end for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was selected by the Packers in the ...
– college football edge rusher for the
Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...
* Chris Thompson – former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
and
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
* Billy Truax – former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
* Dalton Truax – former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...
* Len Yochim – former
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player (
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
) * Ray Yochim – former
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player (
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
)


Resources


Homecoming Isn't a Game This Season by Jere Longman


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110704024740/http://www.holycrossusa.org/spirituality/our-founder-blessed-basil-moreau-csc/ Our Founder


Notes and references


External links


Holy Cross School Website

Holy Cross football vs. Jesuit football
{{authority control Catholic elementary schools in Louisiana Private K–12 schools in New Orleans Catholic secondary schools in New Orleans Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans Boys' schools in Louisiana Holy Cross secondary schools Educational institutions established in 1849 1849 establishments in Louisiana