SiSterS of the holy NameS of JeSuS aNd mary aNd academy of the holy NameS timeliNe

1811 Eulalie Durocher is born in Quebec on October 6th.

1842 Eulalie Durocher (nka Blessed Marie Rose) initiates the first Sodality of Our Lady, a religious community service group for children and young girls in Canada.

1843 Sister Marie Rose Durocher founds the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) in Longueuil, Quebec.

1849 Mother Marie Rose dies on October 6th, her 38th birthday.

1859 Sisters stop in Key West, Fla., on their journey to open a school in Portland, Ore.

1868 Reverend J.B. Allard, pastor of St. Mary of the Sea Parish in Key West, negotiates for SNJMs with Mother Marie Stanislaus, Superior General, to establish the Convent of Mary Immaculate. Sister Mary Felecite is the first Superior.

1871 Sisters establish St. Francis Xavier School for African-American boys and St. Joseph School for Caucasian boys in Key West, Fla.

1872 Sisters briefly operate a school for the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Tallahassee, Fla. A failure of the cotton crop ruined the economy and forced the Sisters to close their second foundation in 1874.

1873 Sisters establish Our Lady of Mercy School for Hispanic girls in Key West, Fla. It is closed in 1878 because of low enrollment.

1881 Sisters Mary Augustine and Mary Maurice open their first Tampa convent in a stable on the corner of Twiggs and Marion Streets, and their first school with 35 pupils in a blacksmith’s shop on the corner of Zack and Franklin Streets. At year’s end, there are 70 day students and two resident students.

No port or railroad exists.

1884 The Sisters earmark a lot on Twiggs Street and Central Avenue for a new school and convent.

1887 With a loan of $2,500 from Bishop Moore, the Sisters secure the Twiggs and Central lot and began construction of a convent and school.

1889 The Convent of the Holy Names moves temporarily to the corner of Franklin and Harrison Streets.

1891 Groundbreaking for the new Convent School at Twiggs and Morgan Streets is assisted by Bishop Moore amidst anti-Catholic protest. The school remains at this location for the next 34 years.

1894 The Jesuits purchase property on Morgan Street to establish a school for the children of Tampa’s African-American community, under the title of St. Peter Claver. Sisters Mary Germaine and Marie Aurelie began classes on Feburary 2nd with 16 pupils. Arsonists set fire to the school on February 14th. Amidst threats from the white community, the sisters continue classes. The Jesuits purchase property on Scott and Governor Streets, where the school resides today, to rebuild.

1895 Port Tampa City leases the Old Printery (Graham Lottery Building), built in 1893 for $48,000, to the St. Louis Catholic Benevolent Group for use as a Catholic school.

1896 Sisters open St. Ignatius School in Port Tampa. It remains in operation until 1901. During the Spanish-American War, it serves as a supply base, and then returns for use as a private school until 1906. The building continues as a public school until 1926 when it was razed to make room for West Shore High School.

Sisters Mary Emeline and Mary Hubert open St. Joseph’s School for Hispanic children in West Tampa at the corner of Albany and Spruce Streets. The school is later renamed Academy of the Holy Names.

Tampa railroad terminal and port is built.

1899 St. Ignatius Church is built in Port Tampa City, a mission of St. Louis Church and the Jesuit Fathers.

1903 Sisters form the first American Sodality of our Lady at the Convent School.

1904 Mother Katherine Drexel, foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Philadelphia, donates an inheritance sum to St. Peter Claver’s. Mrs. Edward Morrell, her sister, establishes the school library and aides construction of the first St. Peter Claver Church.

1913 The Convent School students initiate the “Alma Mater Literary Society,” which entertains clergy, teachers and friends with programs such as “Post Priest of the South.” Members begin “AM Quarterly,” the forerunner of “Excursions Literary Magazine.”

1914 “Loyal Legion” alumni association is initiated. Kate Jackson (1873 Key West graduate) is the first officer. She chooses Easter Monday as the Annual Reunion Day.

1920 Sisters experience the anti-Catholicism of Florida Governor Sidney J. Catts for wearing “a robe of the Pope.” He declares no Catholic may teach in public schools.

1921 Sisters purchase five-plus acres of Cuesta family property on Bayshore for $17,500.

1923 A financial campaign for a new convent and college is initiated by Mr. D.B. McKay, former mayor of Tampa and owner of the Daily Times newspaper. A total of $104,000 is raised. Sisters purchase land at the corner of Central and Michigan Avenues for $28,500.

1924 Sisters protest a law in Oregon forbidding Catholic schools and win their case, Pierce vs. a Society of Sisters, before the United States Supreme Court.

1925 The Convent School is renamed the Academy of the Holy Names.

The Twiggs Street property is sold to Rupert & Bortz of Red Bank Coal Co. of Pittsburgh for $625,000 to purchase 11.5 acres on Bayshore Boulevard for a future school. Contract for the new Academy is awarded to Messrs. Ditmars & Reilly, architects from New York, N.Y.

The Academy of the Holy Names moves to Central and Michigan Avenues and remains there until its new building is completed on Bayshore Boulevard in 1929.

1926 The first school newspaper, Inkwell, is published.

1928 Bishop Patrick Barry lays the cornerstone for the Academy of the Holy Names

on Bayshore Boulevard.

1929 The Academy of the Holy Names opens on Bayshore Boulevard.

The Mothers Association is established.

1931 Tampa’s Sacred Heart Parish opens a coeducational elementary school, Sacred Heart Academy, staffed with Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.

1932 First State of Florida Sodality Convention is held at Sacred Heart Academy.

1933 Sacred Heart Academy opens a parish high school for young women. Its first graduation exercise is held in 1937.

1944 The Central Avenue school closes.

1949 St. Ignatius School in Port Tampa City closes after 50 years.

1952 A contract for additions to the Bayshore campus is signed in the office of Mr. John Twomey by Sr. Mary Esterwin, SNJM, Superior and president of the Academy of the Holy Names Corporation, and Sr. M. Jane Frances, SNJM, provincial supervisor of studies and secretary of the corporation.

1953 AHN adds two new wings to the main four-story structure, as well as an auditorium and the existing chapel.

1954 On February 20th, the blessing of the chapel and consecration of the altar under patronage of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus takes place. Relics of St. Agatha and Sr. Maria Goretti are placed in altar stone. Bishop Thomas J. McDonough, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, is assisted by Rev. M.J. McLaughlin, pastor of Christ the King Church, and Rev. Aloysius Goldspeed, S.J. from New Orleans. The Master of Ceremonies is Rev. William Debois, assistant pastor of St. Paul’s Church in St. Petersburg, Fla. Having blessed the new chapel, Bishop McDonough reminds the Sisters of the parallel between their work and that of St. Theresa.

1962 The Boys Academy opens on MacDill Avenue Campus.

The Dads Club is established.

1968 First AHN elementary school principal, Sr. Mary Glavin, SNJM, is appointed.

1970 AHN kindergarten opens on the MacDill campus.

1971 Sacred Heart Academy closes its high school for young women after 40 years.

1974 AHN boarding school closes.

1979 Sr. Irene Brunelle, SNJM, establishes the Holy Names Alumni Association with AHN and Sacred Heart High School alumni.

At the request of the pastor, the Sisters open a vacation summer school in Bradenton for the children of the outlying districts.

1981 The Sisters’ and AHN’s 100th anniversary is dedicated by an historic marker.

1982 Mother Marie Rose is beatified by Pope John Paul II in Rome, becoming Blessed Marie Rose Durocher.

1985 First AHN president, Sr. Elizabeth Crean, SNJM, is appointed.

1989 Boys Academy and Academy of the Holy Names combine their elementary schools, with Sr. Ann Regan, SNJM, as principal.

1990 The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and the Academy of the Holy Names articulate their mission statement.

1991 AHN’s Frank V. and Grace G. Giunta Gym is dedicated.

1993 The Holy Names Alumni Association establishes a formal alumni board and bylaws.

First AHN lay middle school principal, Dr. Carmen Caltagirone, is appointed.

1994 Second AHN president, Dr. Claire M. Helm, is appointed.

1995 Early Childhood Education Center opens on the MacDill campus.

1997 First AHN High School lay principal, Mary Johnson, is appointed.

1998 Third AHN president, Colleen K. Brady, is appointed.

2001 Bridge to the Future campus master plan commences.

2005 Bridge to the Future campus master plan is completed. Fourth AHN president, Jacqueline Landry, is appointed.

2006 AHN celebrates its 125th anniversary.

2009 Fifth AHN president, Dr. Harry Purpur, is appointed.

2011 Sixth AHN president, Arthur Raimo, is appointed.

The Academy celebrates the 200th birthday of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher.

2012 Sacred Heart Academy closes after 80 years.