With the start of Catholic Schools Week we would like to take a moment to reflect on the history of Catholic Education in Elk County.
The town of St. Marys was founded in 1842 primarily as a haven from religious discrimination for German Roman Catholics from Bavaria. The St. Benedict’s Academy was opened by the Benedictine Sisters where Penn Highlands Elk is located now and remained until 1860; then the sisters moved to Maurus Street.
St. Benedict’s Academy was built on the convent grounds in 1868. St. Mary’s Parish and Sacred Heart Parish each opened its own grade school in 1896. Soon after, in 1901, St. Mary’s Parish built the St. Marys Catholic High School. In 1902, Sacred Heart Parish started its own high school.
In the early 1920’s, Sacred Heart built a brick elementary school which opened in 1923. More room was needed for high school students, so the two parishes in town joined to build St. Marys Central Catholic High School, which opened in 1925.
In response to the population explosion following World War II, St. Mary’s Parish replaced its wooden structure with a stone school and moved its students to the St. Marys Parochial Grade School in 1952. Queen of the World Parish was established in the early 1950’s and opened its own grade school in 1957.
Central Catholic High School could no longer meet the needs of the community so a new high school, Elk County Christian High School was built and opened its doors in 1962 as a regional high school serving the three St. Marys parishes as well as the Roman Catholic parishes of Ridgway, Johnsonburg/Wilcox, Kersey, Bennett’s Valley, Emporium, and Kane.
St. Leo Catholic School in Ridgway was first established in 1891 and once ran up through 12th grade. St. Leo School is the first school in the area that offers a Classical Curriculum. St. Leo’s currently offers preschool-8th grade.
Today Elk County Catholic School System includes St. Marys Catholic Elementary School (preschool-5th grade), St. Marys Catholic Middle School, Elk County Catholic High School, and St. Leo Catholic School in Ridgway.
