Immaculata-La Salle High School is a private, Catholic high school in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida. It is part of the Archdiocese of Miami and is located between Mercy Hospital and Vizcaya on South Bayshore Drive.
The school was officially founded as Immaculata Academy, a Catholic college preparatory school for girls, on September 1, 1958. The Sisters of St. Joseph Congregation of St. Augustine FL were the school's founding religious order. The school is now run by the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco.
History of the school
Immaculata Academy
On November 5, 1945, Bishop Joseph P. Hurley of the Diocese of St. Augustine purchased 130 of the original : on the Bayside and opposite in the pineland of James Deering's Vizcaya estate, from Deering's heirs.
In 1950, Mercy Hospital was founded next to the property by the Sisters of St. Joseph Congregation of St. Augustine to serve the booming post-World War II population.
On August 9, 1958 Sister Mary Damian, SSJ – Immaculata Academy community superior – and Sister Marie de Lourdes Ortagus, SSJ – Immaculata Academy principal – arrived at Mercy Hospital. Immaculata Academy was built adjacent to Mercy Hospital facing the shores of Biscayne Bay.
A few days later on August 13, 1958, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Miami was created, including 16 southeastern Florida counties, 51 parishes, 81 priests and 185,000 Catholics. The rest of the counties remained part of the Diocese of St. Augustine. On August 15, Sisters Mary Monica, St. George, and Mary Martha, SSJ arrived at Mercy Hospital, where they shared five rooms within the hospital convent.
Between August 26 and 28, the first 138 Immaculata Academy students registered for 10th through 12th grades at Mercy Hospital. On August 31, Rev. Thomas Anglim – Immaculata Academy president – conducted the first faculty meeting. Four lay teachers completed the faculty. The school uniform chosen by the faculty was a skirt and blouse of a beige drip-dry material, saddle oxfords, along with a dark brown cardigan for winter months.
On September 1, Immaculata Academy was co-founded by Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley of the Diocese of St. Augustine and Rev. Mother Anna Maria, SSJ. The school name "Immaculata" was chosen to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of her Immaculate Conception. The school opened in the middle of the modern American civil rights movement and during the emerging of the modern feminist movement.
Ivan Meštrović’s Pieta notable sculpture arrived in Miami the same day and was unceremoniously installed facing Biscayne Bay in front of the Immaculata classroom building. When the Diocese of Miami was carved out of the Diocese of St. Augustine, the monument to modern martyrs of Communism, as envisioned and planned by Archbishop Hurley, was never completed.
On September 2, 1958, Immaculata Academy opened its doors for the first time with 153 students. Only three classrooms were ready. While the rest of the school was still under construction, classes were held on half-day session. Because the cafetorium was not completed, students had to use a large classroom on the first floor for cold lunches. On September 15, full-day classes began. On November 28, the school held its first dance – the Sophomore Harvest Hop, in the newly completed cafetorium, and in December the first Christmas Formal dance took place there.
On January 28, 1959, Rev. Thomas L. McDermott became the second Immaculata Academy president. On March 14, Immaculata religious community moved into their school convent. On May 1, the first student members were inducted into the Immaculata Chapter of the National Honor Society. On June 4, Immaculata's first graduation class of 26 students received diplomas at the Church of the Little Flower (St. Theresa) in Coral Gables, Florida. On August 15, Sister Marie de Lourdes Ortagus, SSJ was appointed Immaculata convent superior, replacing Sister Mary Damian, SSJ.
On September 8, Immaculata Academy opened for its second school year with 285 pupils, including St. Theresa school's ninth graders. 1959 was the first year ninth grade students attended the school. On June 3, 1960, Immaculata Academy graduated 49 seniors from Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Miami. Sources: Journal of Sister Mary Alberta Stark, SSJ and 1961 Immaculata Academy Signum Yearbook
On September 6, 1960, Immaculata Academy's third school year opened with 440 pupils and ninth grade female students from feeder parishes Gesu Church - Miami, Church of the Little Flower (St. Theresa) - Coral Gables, Sts. Peter and Paul Church - Miami, St. Michael the Archangel Church - Miami, Church of the Epiphany - South Miami, St. Brendan's Church - Miami, Holy Rosary Church - Perrine, and St. Hugh's Church - Coconut Grove (Miami). Rev. Robert Reardon was appointed supervising principal.
On September 11, 1960, Hurricane Donna hit the school and convent with up to -an-hour winds and 11 to waves from Biscayne Bay. When the school was closed for cleanup, blue crabs were found on the second floor of the classroom building, where school books stored in open hallway lockers were damaged and then replaced. Source: Nancy Foye-Cox, ILS 1964 Classmate's oral history
On November 14, 1960, the Immaculata Academy student body marched en masse to Rickenbacker Causeway to greet U.S. President-elect John F. Kennedy, who was en route to a historical meeting with Vice President Richard Nixon on Key Biscayne. A Christmas pageant was presented by the school in December. The Christmas Formal dance was sponsored by the Immaculata Parent's Auxiliary. During the winter of 1960–1961, the first student Red Cross chapter was formed. Source: Journal of Sister Mary Alberta Stark, SSJ and 1961 Immaculata Academy Signum Yearbook
On February 14, 1961, the ILS Junior class sponsored "The Heart of Fashion" show. Sources: Journal of Sister Mary Alberta Stark, SSJ and the 1960–1964 Immaculata Academy "Signum" yearbooks and "Corona" student newspaper editions.
Christian Brothers (Brothers of the Christian Schools) On April 30, 1651, Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (1651–1719) was born to a family of wealth in Reims, France. At age 27, La Salle was ordained a priest after renouncing his family's fortune. He received his doctorate in theology a few years later. La Salle founded the order in 1680 with the mission of teaching poor boys. Found literally in every part of the world, La Salle founded a teaching order known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools to instruct teachers and create schools for delinquent children. He also founded vocational and secondary schools, and implemented the use of modern languages, arts and sciences. La Salle dedicated his life to establishing and developing quality schools throughout France. After his death in 1719, he was canonized a saint of the Catholic Church by Pope Leo XIII.
To avoid persecution in France, 70 La Salle Christian Brothers were sent to Canada. On September 10, 1905, 11 Brothers arrived in Cuba and were well received by the Cuba's president and the Bishop of Havana. Immediately they opened two new schools in Havana. Within 56 years, they had opened 23 schools and one university in Cuba. Their schools were available to all children regardless of income, status or race.
In 1959, the Communist regime forced students to join the militia. On May 1, 1961, Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro decreed the nationalization of all 350 private schools. Churches were also closed, and all priests and religious, as well as the Christian Brothers, were expelled from Cuba.
During the first two years of the Cuban revolution, many Catholic students were sent to prison and were soon joined by many priests and Brothers. They were tortured on a daily basis at the infamous La Cabana prison. They agonized and prayed nightly as they heard students yell "Viva Cristo Rey" before being shot by a firing squad at the Paredon.
On May 25, 1961, 109 Brothers of the Christian Schools - Christian Brothers, arrived at Miami International Airport on a Pan American World Airways flight, which was chartered by the Scoppeta-Arca family. They came to the United States, because Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro closed all Catholic churches, convents, and schools, and expelled all priests and religious orders. Thousands of their former students, who had fled Cuba earlier, were there to greet them. A few days later, six former students (Eduardo R. Arellano de Cardenas, Jose M. Arellano de Cardenas, Bienvenido "Benny" Benach Costales, Oscar Bustill Guas, Nestor Machado Lopez-Munoz, and Eduardo Sanchez Rionda) visited the Brothers at the Everglades Hotel in downtown Miami and resolved to assist them in establishing another La Salle school in Miami.
These student co-founders of La Salle High School asked the community for help raising funds and gathering clothing for the Brothers. They met with Bishop Coleman Carroll and Rev. Bryan Walsh, who both agreed to fund a school for the Christian Brothers. The decision was prompt and swift; the school was built in less than six months on the same site as Immaculata Academy. The bishop arranged for the schools to share certain school facilities. Meanwhile, other Christian Brother schools in New York and Pennsylvania sent Brothers to set the curriculum and work with the Cuban Christian Brothers.Jose Arellano - ILS 1962 Classmate, oral history.
La Salle High School
La Salle High School is named for St. Jean Baptiste de La Salle - founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (the Christian Brothers) and universal patron of teachers. The Christian Brothers is the largest group of men in the Catholic Church devoted exclusively to teaching. In the United States, they mainly teach and administer elementary schools and high schools.
On June 3, 1961, 72 Immaculata Academy seniors received diplomas from Bishop Carroll at the Church of the Little Flower (St. Theresa) in Coral Gables.
On September 5, 1961, Immaculata Academy opened with 490 students and 20 faculty members (10 religious and 10 lay teachers). For the first time, the Immaculata student body had 6 African-American students. 1964 Classmate Antonia "Toni" Williams was the first African-American student to enroll at Immaculata Academy. This was nearly 10 years before Federal Judge E. Clyde Atkins ordered all Dade County schools to be racially integrated by September on January 22, 1970. Also, Cuban refugee girls soon become Immaculata classmates and were paired with Immaculata students to learn English. Basic Spanish was taught to all students over the school intercom. Source: 1964 ILS Classmate Toni Williams-Gary's oral history
Once again, the Sisters of St. Joseph welcomed diverse students to the school as had always been their tradition in America. Although the U.S. Supreme Court 1954 decision in Brown vs. Board of Education made segregated schools illegal, in 1964 only 2% of public schools nationwide were racially integrated.
On September 11, 1961, La Salle High School was officially founded by Bishop Coleman F. Carroll under the direction of the District of Cuba of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (the Christian Brothers). La Salle opened its doors for the first time in late September with 260 students (grades 7 through 12) with a faculty of 13 Christian Brothers. The majority of students were Cuban refugees. Two American brothers assisted the faculty, and Brother Benjamin Roque, FSC became La Salle's first principal.
Miami parishes served by Immaculata and La Salle were: Gesu, St. Michael the Archangel, Sts. Peter and Paul, and St. Dominic - Miami; Church of the Little Flower (St. Theresa) - Coral Gables; St. Hugh - Coconut Grove (Miami); Church of the Epiphany and St. Thomas the Apostle - South Miami; Our Lady of the “Holy Rosary” – Perrine; Sacred Heart - Homestead; St. Brendan and St. Timothy - West Miami; and St. Agnes – Key Biscayne.