St. Mary's Academy is a private
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 ...
K-12 school in
New Orleans
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 ...
,
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 25 ...
run by the
Sisters of the Holy Family.
Founded in 1867, it is one of the oldest
Black Catholic schools in the country.
It admits girls and boys until grade 7, and admits only girls for grades 8-12. The academy has a long tradition as a private Catholic college preparatory co-educational elementary and a middle/high school for young women.
History
The school was founded in 1867 by the
Sisters of the Holy Family, the second
Black Catholic religious order in the United States, as a place where Black children could be educated during segregation. The order's founder, Venerable
Henriette DeLille
Henriette Díaz DeLille, SSF (March 11, 1813 – November 17, 1862) was a Louisiana Creole of color and Catholic religious sister from New Orleans. She founded the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1836 and served as their first Mother Superior. ...
, was a
Creole of color who has since become venerated within the Church.
The school has undergone two moves in its history, having started closer to the heart of the city (in the
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...
), next to the sisters' convent at 350 Chartres Street.
It moved within the neighborhood after 14 years, and came to its present location in
New Orleans East
New Orleans East (also referred to as Eastern New Orleans, N.O. East and The East) is the eastern section of New Orleans, Louisiana, a large section of the 9th Ward of New Orleans, mostly not developed until the later 20th century. This collec ...
in 1965.
The school built a brand-new facility following
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. ...
, which heavily damaged the previous structure. The new building, which began serving male students in the lower school, was completed in 2011.
In September 2022, the school announced the hiring of its first-ever lay president, Pamela M. Rogers.
Pythagorean theorem proofs
In 2023, students Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson each independently created new proofs for the
Pythagorean theorem
In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem or Pythagoras' theorem is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry between the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite t ...
using trigonometry. It had previously been thought to be impossible for 2,000 years. The students were featured on multiple news outlets including ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'', and their proofs were subsequently published in ''
The American Mathematical Monthly
''The American Mathematical Monthly'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of mathematics. It was established by Benjamin Finkel in 1894 and is published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Mathematical Association of America. It is an exposito ...
''.
Athletics
St. Mary's Academy athletics competes in the
LHSAA.
Notable alumni
*
Leah Chase
Leyah (Leah) Chase (née Lange; January 6, 1923 – June 1, 2019) was an Americans, American chef based in New Orleans, Louisiana. An author and television personality, she was known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine, advocating both African-Ameri ...
, Louisiana Creole chef
*
Dana Douglas,
United States circuit judge
In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
...
, former
United States magistrate judge
In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...
of the
References
External links
St. Mary's Academy website
Catholic secondary schools in New Orleans
Catholic elementary schools in Louisiana
Private K–12 schools in New Orleans
Girls' schools in Louisiana
Educational institutions established in 1867
1867 establishments in Louisiana
Catholic schools in Louisiana
African-American Roman Catholic schools
Sisters of the Holy Family (Louisiana)
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