Redeemer-Seton High School was a Catholic

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

. 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. Rita's Church in New Orleans on June 25, 2006.

History

Redeemer-Seton was formed by the merger of two Catholic high schools, Redeemer High School (1980–1994) and Seton Academy (1976–1994). The ''Redeemer High'' legacy began as Redemptorist Boys and Girls High School (1937–1980) in the ''Irish Channel'' section of New Orleans. As the Redemptorist 1980 class yearbook ''The Redemptor'' states, and many living alumni also attest, the name changed to Redeemer High School after the Archdiocese of New Orleans wished to purchase the school. The school had lowered in enrollment, and the ''Redemptorist Fathers'' wanted to pull out of their ownership of the school. The new Redeemer High then moved to its last location on 1453 Crescent Street in the Gentilly section of New Orleans. This was the site of the then closed St. Joseph Academy (New Orleans) (all-girls). Many dedicated alumni of Redemptorist, originally sent their children to the new Redeemer High and eventually, the merged Redeemer-Seton High. True RAM alumni acknowledge the school to be a mosaic of races and cultures. Originally, Redemptorist was predominantly a Caucasian student body, until its later years, when more Black Americans and other minorities enrolled, providing the school with more enrollment revenue and added cultural significance to the RAMS legacy. It became the only racially diverse, co-educational, private Catholic school in the city. Since its ''Irish Channel'' years, the school was a co-educational institution. Redemptorist/Redeemer/Redeemer-Seton, was known for its rich history, its lovable and eccentric faculty and student body, and its resilience. This high school was originally located in the Gentilly neighborhood in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina and was the second-most damaged campus in the city, after

Alfred Lawless High School Alfred Lawless High School was a public high school and junior high school in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History As a part of the New Orleans Public Schools, Lawless opened its doors to African American student ...

in the

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. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans ( la, Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, french: Archidiocèse de la Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleans) is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church spanning Jefferso ...

sold the site of Redeemer-Seton to Holy Cross High School, although this plan elicited strong criticism from various groups, including Redeemer-Seton

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

and former Redeemer-Seton

faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...

members. Holy Cross administrators

demolished Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a b ...

all buildings on the site to make way for the campus. Redeemer-Seton shared the site with St. Frances Cabrini Church and St. Frances Cabrini Elementary. Parishioners in the Cabrini community agreed to allow the

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

to sell the combined Cabrini/Redeemer-Seton site, but

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

preservationists and some members of the Cabrini community argued that the church was an important example of mid-twentieth century architecture and was worthy of preservation and

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...

. Opponents to the preservationists argued that the church had extensive damage and was not significant enough to save. Holy Cross

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argued that they needed the entire site for the

and could not spare the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Ch ...

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast ...

opened in this location at the start of the 2009 school year.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Defunct Catholic secondary schools in New Orleans Educational institutions established in 1994 Educational institutions disestablished in 2006 1994 establishments in Louisiana 2006 disestablishments in Louisiana