Holy Ghost High School (1874–1971) was a private, Black Catholic secondary school founded in

Opelousas, Louisiana Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 in Louisiana, Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 in Louisiana, U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a ju ...

, in 1874. It was the first Catholic

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

for Black students in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. It also was named St. Joseph’s Academy for Colored, St. Joseph Convent, St. Joseph School, Holy Ghost School, and Holy Ghost Training School.

History

The earliest African American school in the

St. Landry Parish St. Landry Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 82,540. The parish seat is Opelousas. The parish was established in 1807. St. Landry Parish comprises the Opelousas, LA Micr ...

was the Grimble Bell School in

Washington, Louisiana Washington is a village in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 742 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Opelousas– Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. Washington was the largest inland port between New Or ...

, founded in the 1830s, and shut down in 1860 by White

vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

. This was followed by new African American schools formed after the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, The Freedman’s School and the Peabody School. The Holy Ghost High School was established in 1874 under the name "St. Joseph’s Academy for Colored" by brothers Fr. Gilbert Raymond and Francis Raymond. The names St. Joseph Convent, and St. Joseph School were also recorded in the early years. It was the first Catholic

for Black students in the

. The

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana The Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana ( Latin: ''Dioecesis Lafayettensis'', ) is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New O ...

opened a Black church called Holy Ghost Church; and in 1921 Fr. James Hyland merged the St. Joseph School with the church to formed the Holy Ghost School. The original school building for St. Joseph was demolished in 1955, and rebuilt the next year in the same location; and by 1959 all remnants of the original wooden structure were removed.

Racial integration and closure

In July 1970, eighteen families filed a lawsuit in federal court applying for an

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana and the two

boards in the city of Opelousas. They wanted to end racial segregation in the local Catholic schools for Black and White pupils. Holy Ghost High School was closed in 1971, and merged along with Academy of the Immaculate Conception (AIC) into Opelousas Catholic School in September 1971. The former Holy Ghost High School campus is now used for an elementary school.

References

{{Authority control 1874 establishments in Louisiana 1971 disestablishments in Louisiana Defunct Catholic secondary schools in Louisiana Educational institutions established in 1874 Educational institutions disestablished in 1971 Historically segregated African-American schools in Louisiana Opelousas, Louisiana Schools in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana Louisiana articles missing geocoordinate data African-American Roman Catholic schools

History

Racial integration and closure

See also

References