Holy Cross High School (New Orleans)
Encyclopedia
Holy Cross High School is a high school
and middle school
founded in 1849 by the Congregation of Holy Cross
in New Orleans, Louisiana
. The main founder of Holy Cross is Blessed
Father Basil Moreau
, who was just recently beatified. Holy Cross High was originally named St. Isadore's College. The school's founding principle is the school code, "The Holy Cross Man."
Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
, Holy Cross School remains a great New Orleans middle/high (grades 5-12) school for boys that has created an educational environment that helps boys become men, through a curriculum and staffing that creates "heart, mind, body and soul" enrichment, making men who lead lives that create personal and social action for the betterment of others.
in South Bend, Indiana, and took over an orphanage for the boys and girls who survived a plague. This 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 (the same Industrial Canal which experienced levee failures that flooded large parts of New Orleans twice, with Hurricane Betsy (1965) and Hurricane Katrina (2005)).
In 1871 Holy Cross moved to its historic site, which then was a farm named St. Isidore's farm, 4950 Dauphine Street, and built a renowned "collegiate-styled campus" and established in 1879 its current school, bordered by the high Mississippi River levee. This area has since become a Federal Historic District known as the "Holy Cross Historic District".
First chartered by the State of Louisiana in 1890, the name was changed to Holy Cross in 1895 when the present 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.
, the campus, like the majority of the city, was flooded by the Levee failures on the Industrial Canal and levee "over-topped" by storm surge along the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) that destroyed St. Bernard Parish and Eastern New Orleans) and Greater New Orleans in August 2005. The school has relocated to 5500 Paris Avenue, the campuses of the former St. Francis Cabrini Parish
and Redeemer-Seton High School
on Paris Avenue between Filmore and Prentiss Avenue in the Gentilly
/7th Ward neighborhood of New Orleans. Demolition of the various structures which once stood has been completed. This is one of the many steps in the construction of the new location which is now Holy Cross High School. Currently, the state of the art high school, middle school, and administration building have been completed. A small amount of temporary trailers are still in use.
The Advisory Committee of the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries informed Holy Cross School that it has been chosen to receive a $50,000 grant to purchase books for the school's library. She attended Holy Cross on Thursday, April 19, 2007 to present the 14 grantees in Mississippi and Louisiana, including Holy Cross, with the donation.
of New Orleans, LA. Buildings that have been completed include the Middle and High School Buildings, with the Administration building coming online in January 2010. The campus will be completely covered by wireless internet, with all security and maintenance maintained through computer automation.
Buildings now in construction include the school's enormous gymnasium, as well as the maintenance building. The gymnasium will house an indoor basketball court with stadium seating, a full-size indoor track, collegiate level locker rooms, weight rooms, several practice rooms for karate and wrestling, along with a snack area and band rehearsal floor. The maintenance building houses the chillers for the entire school's air conditioning system, consisting of four 400ton chillers. All systems are fully automated with remote control access by internet.
Additionally, the school hopes to complete a chapel, pool building, along with a separate performing arts center and cafeteria. In the future to school hopes to cap its size at 1000-1200 enrollees in a few years.
Maintenance wise, all air handlers, thermostats, lighting, and security features are remotely monitored and controlled with full automation by computers.
This high-level ability has been built quickly up with the heavy support of Headmaster Charles DiGange and the tireless work of Jerry Arnone, the school's IT Director. Holy Cross School now tops any school in the metropolitan area with its technological prowess. Also, the expertise of Mr. Ben Fortenberry has allowed the school's website to become a wonderful portal for family and visitors alike to the school.
.
Holy Cross football vs. Jesuit football is the oldest continuous high school rivalry in Louisiana and one of the oldest continuous high school football rivalries in the United States. 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). Jesuit won the 2011 meeting 37-0.
The Tigers have also had a long rivalry with Chalmette High School, owing to Holy Cross' former location in the Lower 9th Ward and its large student population from neighboring St. Bernard Parish
. Chalmette and Holy Cross were rivals in the New Orleans Catholic League from 1968 through 1988.
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. The team played a shortened schedule and won four of seven games, including a playoff match. Holy Cross defeated archrival Jesuit during this season in the 87th meeting of the storied rivalry.
The Tigers were the 1939 state basketball champions. They again made the championship game in 1974 but lost to Brother Martin.
Holy Cross is also known for its wrestling program, and has won the Louisiana state championship in this sport 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 23-year period of 1945 to 1968; 1951 was the only year in this period when the state championship was not won by the Tigers. The latest championship was won in 2009. http://holycrosstigers.com/section_5_71.asp These teams were coached by Brother Melchior Polowy who is largely considered the founder of High School Wrestling in Louisiana.
The 2009-2010 school year also brought great success to the Tigers in many areas, as the Tigers won state championships in swimming and cross country.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
founded in 1849 by the Congregation of Holy Cross
Congregation of Holy Cross
The Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. The main founder of Holy Cross is Blessed
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Father Basil Moreau
Basil Moreau
The Blessed Father Basil Anthony Marie Patrice Moreau, CSC was the French priest who founded the Congregation of Holy Cross from which three additional congregations were founded, namely the Marianites of Holy Cross, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and the Sisters of Holy Cross...
, who was just recently beatified. Holy Cross High was originally named St. Isadore's College. The school's founding principle is the school code, "The Holy Cross Man."
Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, officially in Latin Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church administered from New Orleans, Louisiana...
, Holy Cross School remains a great New Orleans middle/high (grades 5-12) school for boys that has created an educational environment that helps boys become men, through a curriculum and staffing that creates "heart, mind, body and soul" enrichment, making men who lead lives that create personal and social action for the betterment of others.
History
In 1849 the Brothers, Priests and Sisters of Holy Cross arrived in New Orleans, after having established the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in South Bend, Indiana, and took over an orphanage for the boys and girls who survived a plague. This 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 (the same Industrial Canal which experienced levee failures that flooded large parts of New Orleans twice, with Hurricane Betsy (1965) and Hurricane Katrina (2005)).
In 1871 Holy Cross moved to its historic site, which then was a farm named St. Isidore's farm, 4950 Dauphine Street, and built a renowned "collegiate-styled campus" and established in 1879 its current school, bordered by the high Mississippi River levee. This area has since become a Federal Historic District known as the "Holy Cross Historic District".
First chartered by the State of Louisiana in 1890, the name was changed to Holy Cross in 1895 when the present 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.
Holy Cross Relocation
With Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, the campus, like the majority of the city, was flooded by the Levee failures on the Industrial Canal and levee "over-topped" by storm surge along the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) that destroyed St. Bernard Parish and Eastern New Orleans) and Greater New Orleans in August 2005. The school has relocated to 5500 Paris Avenue, the campuses of the former St. Francis Cabrini Parish
St. Frances Cabrini Church
St. Frances Cabrini Church was a Roman Catholic church in New Orleans, Louisiana the heart of the parish of the same name in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The parish was an area bounded by Lake Pontchartrain, mid-city,and two major canals. The parish was carved from St. Raphael Parish in 1953...
and Redeemer-Seton High School
Redeemer-Seton High School
Redeemer-Seton High School was a Catholic 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 graduates at St...
on Paris Avenue between Filmore and Prentiss Avenue in the Gentilly
Gentilly, New Orleans
Gentilly is a broad, predominantly middle-class and racially diverse section of New Orleans, Louisiana. The first part of Gentilly to be developed was along the Gentilly Ridge, a long stretch of high ground along the former banks of Bayou Gentilly...
/7th Ward neighborhood of New Orleans. Demolition of the various structures which once stood has been completed. This is one of the many steps in the construction of the new location which is now Holy Cross High School. Currently, the state of the art high school, middle school, and administration building have been completed. A small amount of temporary trailers are still in use.
The Advisory Committee of the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries informed Holy Cross School that it has been chosen to receive a $50,000 grant to purchase books for the school's library. She attended Holy Cross on Thursday, April 19, 2007 to present the 14 grantees in Mississippi and Louisiana, including Holy Cross, with the donation.
New Campus
Holy Cross School is now in the process of building a brand new, state-of-the-art campus on Paris Avenue in the Gentilly neighborhoodGentilly, New Orleans
Gentilly is a broad, predominantly middle-class and racially diverse section of New Orleans, Louisiana. The first part of Gentilly to be developed was along the Gentilly Ridge, a long stretch of high ground along the former banks of Bayou Gentilly...
of New Orleans, LA. Buildings that have been completed include the Middle and High School Buildings, with the Administration building coming online in January 2010. The campus will be completely covered by wireless internet, with all security and maintenance maintained through computer automation.
Buildings now in construction include the school's enormous gymnasium, as well as the maintenance building. The gymnasium will house an indoor basketball court with stadium seating, a full-size indoor track, collegiate level locker rooms, weight rooms, several practice rooms for karate and wrestling, along with a snack area and band rehearsal floor. The maintenance building houses the chillers for the entire school's air conditioning system, consisting of four 400ton chillers. All systems are fully automated with remote control access by internet.
Additionally, the school hopes to complete a chapel, pool building, along with a separate performing arts center and cafeteria. In the future to school hopes to cap its size at 1000-1200 enrollees in a few years.
Technology
Holy Cross School has risen since its near destruction to have one of the most sophisticated campuses, with technology heavily implemented into its school curriculum. Currently, all students are issued laptops individually to use at school and at home. This necessitates having a completely wireless campus covering over 18 acres (72,843.5 m²). Using cutting edge Dell and Cisco servers, the school maintains full automation of all maintenance systems on campus, with remote access control. The school partners with many providers to provide email, wireless printing, multimedia resources, and sophisticated equipment to all its faculty, students, and staff. Additionally, the new campus features Smart boards in all classrooms with all systems networked throughout the buildings.Maintenance wise, all air handlers, thermostats, lighting, and security features are remotely monitored and controlled with full automation by computers.
This high-level ability has been built quickly up with the heavy support of Headmaster Charles DiGange and the tireless work of Jerry Arnone, the school's IT Director. Holy Cross School now tops any school in the metropolitan area with its technological prowess. Also, the expertise of Mr. Ben Fortenberry has allowed the school's website to become a wonderful portal for family and visitors alike to the school.
Athletics
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. Holy Cross currently competes in Class 4A of the Louisiana High School Athletic AssociationLouisiana High School Athletic Association
The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is the agency which regulates and promotes the interscholastic athletic competitions of all high schools in the state of Louisiana.- Organization :...
.
Holy Cross football vs. Jesuit football is the oldest continuous high school rivalry in Louisiana and one of the oldest continuous high school football rivalries in the United States. 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). Jesuit won the 2011 meeting 37-0.
The Tigers have also had a long rivalry with Chalmette High School, owing to Holy Cross' former location in the Lower 9th Ward and its large student population from neighboring St. Bernard Parish
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
St. Bernard Parish is a parish located southeast of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Chalmette, the largest city in the parish. As of 2000, its population was 67,229. It has been ranked the fastest-growing county in the United States from 2007 to 2008 by the U.S....
. Chalmette and Holy Cross were rivals in the New Orleans Catholic League from 1968 through 1988.
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. The team played a shortened schedule and won four of seven games, including a playoff match. Holy Cross defeated archrival Jesuit during this season in the 87th meeting of the storied rivalry.
The Tigers were the 1939 state basketball champions. They again made the championship game in 1974 but lost to Brother Martin.
Holy Cross is also known for its wrestling program, and has won the Louisiana state championship in this sport 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 23-year period of 1945 to 1968; 1951 was the only year in this period when the state championship was not won by the Tigers. The latest championship was won in 2009. http://holycrosstigers.com/section_5_71.asp These teams were coached by Brother Melchior Polowy who is largely considered the founder of High School Wrestling in Louisiana.
The 2009-2010 school year also brought great success to the Tigers in many areas, as the Tigers won state championships in swimming and cross country.
Alma mater
The Holy Cross Alma Mater is the most important display of spirit one can show for the school. When singing the Alma Mater, members of the Holy Cross family raise their right hands and extend their index fingers in a symbolic gesture of unity.- "Holy Cross we hail thee, tender strong and true.
- Proudly from thy towers, gleams thy gold and blue.
- Glory's crown adorns thee, shining is thy fame.
- And our hearts' forever praise thy glorius name.
- And our hearts' forever praise thy glorius name!"
Holy Cross Victory March
The Holy Cross Fight Song was derived from the fight song of the University of Notre Dame, which was also founded by priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross.- "Rally, sons of Holy Cross.
- Sings her glory, victory or loss.
- Praise her gold and blue,
- and cheer with voices true.
- Rah! Rah! For Holy Cross!
- We will fight in every game
- Strong of heart and true to her name.
- We will ne'er forget her
- And we'll cheer her ever
- Loyal to Holy Cross!
- Cheer, cheer for old Holy Cross.
- Cheer her in victory, cheer her in loss.
- Send a volley cheer on high,
- Shake down the thunder from the sky.
- What though the odd be great or small,
- Old Holy Cross will win over all.
- While her loyal sons are marching
- Onward to victory."
Notable alumni
- Joe AilletJoe AilletJoe Aillet was the head football coach at Louisiana Tech University from 1940 to 1966. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. During his 26-year tenure, he amassed a career record of 151 wins, 86 losses, and 8 ties. Additionally, under Aillet, the Bulldogs won nine...
- Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
football coach at Louisiana TechLouisiana Tech Bulldogs footballThe Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football program represents Louisiana Tech University in Western Athletic Conference. The team currently competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Since the Bulldogs first season in 1901, Louisiana Tech has compiled an all-time record of 554 wins, 422... - E. W. GravoletE. W. GravoletEzekiel Winnfield Kelly Gravolet, Jr., usually known as E. W. Gravolet or E. W. "Kelly" Gravolet , was a businessman from Pointe a la Hache, Louisiana, who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature from 1948 until his death at the age of forty-nine.Gravolet was the son of E. W...
- Louisiana state legislator from Pointe a la HachePointe a la Hache, LouisianaPointe à la Hache is an unincorporated village and place in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States.Located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, the village has been the seat for Plaquemines Parish since the formation of the parish....
in Plaquemines ParishPlaquemines Parish, LouisianaPlaquemines Parish is the parish with the most combined land and water area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Pointe à la Hache... - Hank LauricellaHank LauricellaFrancis E. Lauricella, known as Hank Lauricella was a Hall of Fame American football player for the Tennessee Volunteers football team. He served as a Democrat in the Louisiana State Senate from Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs from 1972 to 1996...
- professional football player, Louisiana state senatorLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from Jefferson ParishJefferson Parish, LouisianaJefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
from 1972–1996 - Chris Thompson - Canadian Football LeagueCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
's Edmonton EskimosEdmonton EskimosThe Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
defensive back
Resources
- Homecoming Isn't a Game This Season by Jere Longman
- Holy Cross: In Love With A Place By Clancy DuBos
- In Tale of Church vs. School, a New Orleans Dilemma