The Reverend Anthony Maraschi, S.J. (1820 - 1897) was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

-born priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 of the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

. He was a founder of the University of San Francisco

University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...

 and Saint Ignatius College Preparatory as well as the first pastor

Pastor

The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

 of Saint Ignatius Church

Saint Ignatius Church (San Francisco)

Saint Ignatius Church is a church on the campus of the University of San Francisco in San Francisco, California, USA. The church serves a parish of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco and is the university's chapel...

 in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

.

Born in Piedmont, Italy in 1820, Maraschi entered the Society of Jesus in Chieti

Chieti

Chieti is a city and comune in Central Italy, 200 km northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region...

. He began his scholastic career in Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 and was ordained a priest there in 1849. Maraschi left for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soon thereafter, and he completed a theology degree at Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

 before becoming a member of its faculty. Maraschi was also assigned to teach at the College of the Holy Cross

College of the Holy Cross

The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...

 in Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

 and Loyola College

Loyola College in Maryland

Loyola University Maryland is a Roman Catholic, Jesuit private university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges...

 in Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1854, Maraschi left for San Francisco. Upon arrival, he served as an assistant pastor for both St. Francis of Assisi and St. Patrick's churches while planning the establishment of a Jesuit church and school in the City. With the approval of Archbishop Joseph Alemany and the assistance of fellow Jesuits Michael Accolti, S.J. and Joseph Bixio, S.J., Saint Ignatius Church and College were established in 1855.

Saint Ignatius College was recognized by the Society of Jesus in 1859 and charter

Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

ed by the State of California that same year. During the early years, Father Maraschi not only served as the church's pastor but also the college's president

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 and treasurer

Treasurer

A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

, as well as an instructor in Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 and Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. While he turned over the college's presidency to Nicholas Congiato

Nicholas Congiato

* Santa Clara College . Souvenir of Santa Clara College. Santa Clara, CA: University Press, 1901....

, S.J. in 1862, Father Maraschi continued to supervise its financial affairs. He also continued to serve as Saint Ignatius Church's parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 priest until a dispute with Archbishop Alemany in 1863 resulted in the church's parish status being rescinded.

Much later on, Saint Ignatius College would split into Saint Ignatius College and Saint Ignatius High School, with the former becoming the University of San Francisco and the latter becoming Saint Ignatius College Preparatory.

Anthony Maraschi died in San Francisco in 1897 and was buried in Mission Santa Clara's cemetery.