Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, commonly known as SHC, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

school located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Founded in 1852, Sacred Heart Cathedral is the oldest Catholic secondary school and was the first

co-ed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

Catholic high school in San Francisco. SHC is owned by the

Archdiocese of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Arquidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the Unit ...

History

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory was formed by a merger between two single-sex schools — St. Vincent's and Sacred Heart High School. St. Vincent's was founded in 1852 as an orphanage and a girls' day school by five sisters of the Daughters of Charity. In 1868, the Christian Brothers would open St. Peter’s Parochial School, whose grammar and high school divisions would be run by the Christian Brothers until 1953. Sacred Heart College was established in 1874 and had a curriculum spanning grammar school, high school along with a 3-year college program, after which students could transfer to St. Mary's College to complete their 4th year of college education. The college was located at Eddy & Larkin Streets from 1874 until 1906, relocated to Fell Street until 1914 then at Ellis & Franklin until present. College courses were eliminated in 1922 and the grammar school division was eliminated in 1928. SHC, along with St. Vincent's, were destroyed during the

1906 San Francisco Earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

. St. Vincent’s school would eventually be rebuilt, and moved three more times, finally settling on the corner of Gough and Geary streets in 1938. In 1966, the St. Vincent’s would be razed to make way for St. Mary's Cathedral, rebuilt adjacent to it, then renamed Cathedral High School. The schools would merge together in 1987 into Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, after having collaborated together since 1967.

Facilities

The school is located in San Francisco's Cathedral Hill District, with the two academic buildings located on the corner of Gough and Ellis Streets. A field used by the school's athletic teams for practice is also located on the corner of Gough and Eddy Streets.

De Paul Campus for the Arts

On the northwest corner of the intersection is the former Cathedral High School building, now named the De Paul Campus for the Arts in honor of

St. Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, Congregation of the Mission, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitans, Occitan French Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving ...

. It houses the Sister Caroline Collins, DC, Theater, opened in fall of 2010; freshman lockers; the history, visual and performing arts, and Language Other than English (LOTE) departments. Starting in 2020, the DePaul Campus underwent renovations to modernize the front lobby, which are now completed. The building adjoins San Francisco's Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption; the school's former building was razed by the

to make room for the construction of the new Cathedral. The cathedral's rectory is adjacent to the De Paul Campus, but there is no access to it from the school; the entrance is located on the northeast corner entrance of the campus.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

stayed in the rectory at the De Paul Campus during his trip to

in 1987, which is marked by a plaque at the entrance of the rectory.

La Salle campus

The La Salle campus is named in honor of St. John Baptist de La Salle. This campus has a six-story building which houses school administration offices, the library, the Community Life Center, and the English, Mathematics, Science, and Religion departments. The library occupies the entire sixth story, except for a small chapel and veranda.

Student Life Center

The Sister Teresa Piro, DC, Student Life Center, completed in 2004 at an estimated cost of $16 million, houses a 1,500-seat athletic gym (called the Pavilion) and 1,000-seat Dining Hall. The building is adjoined to an older facility housing a gymnasium, weight room, fitness center, and robotics lab.

Tuition and enrollment

Tuition at SHC costs $26,500 per student in the 2024-25 term. SHC provides an array of courses, including college preparatory, honors, and

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

classes. All students are required to take English and Religious Studies for four years, as well as three years of Math and Social Studies. SHC uses a

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of ...

system for math, with students typically being placed on one of three tracks in their freshman years. They must also take one year of a Visual or Performing Art (VPA) to graduate. Most students additionally opt to take three or four years of Science and a foreign language. Sacred Heart Cathedral enrolls approximately 1,300 students from San Francisco and its suburbs.

Athletics

The athletic teams, known as the Fightin' Irish, compete in the West Catholic Athletic League. There are 22 teams and 53 sport levels for boys and girls at SHC split into Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons. In the 2021-2022 school year, Sacred Heart Cathedral claimed its first CIF football title in school history after winning the Division 4-A state championship game.

Rivalry with St. Ignatius College Preparatory

Sacred Heart Cathedral's traditional rival is St. Ignatius College Preparatory, also located in San Francisco. The rivalry between the two schools began with a two men who attended the schools. Bill Bruce attended SI and Jerry Mahoney attended SHC. The trophy was inaugurated in 1947 and is named in honor of Bill Bruce and Jerry Mahoney, each an alumnus exclusively representing one of the schools, both of whom were killed in World War II. The two schools play against each other in football, boys basketball, baseball, and added in 2021, girls volleyball and basketball. In basketball, baseball, and volleyball where the teams play more than one game per season, only the first game counts towards winning the trophy. The trophy goes to the school that wins in three out of the five games.

Notable alumni

James J. Corbett James John Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an Americans, American professional Boxing, boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated John L. Sullivan (hence the "man who beat the man" ...

, 1880 – Professional boxer * Pete McDonough, 1889 – San Francisco businessman, saloon owner, and storyteller * William J. Quinn, 1901 – Chief of Police of San Francisco, California * Maurice J. Sullivan, 1902 – American politician, U.S. Representative and Lt. Governor of Nevada * Arthur Ohnimus, 1911 – American politician, Chief Clerk of the California Assembly *

Harry Heilmann Harry Edwin Heilmann (August 3, 1894 – July 9, 1951), nicknamed "Slug", was an American baseball player and radio announcer. He played professional baseball for 19 years between 1913 and 1932, including 17 seasons in Major League Baseball wit ...

, 1912 – Professional baseball player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame *

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, Manager (baseball), manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Bost ...

, 1924 – Professional baseball player, inducted into

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

and

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

president *

Dolph Camilli Adolph Louis Camilli (April 23, 1907 – October 21, 1997) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies and Brooklyn Dodgers. He was named the National League (baseball), Natio ...

, 1924 – Professional baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers *

Joseph Alioto Joseph Lawrence Alioto (February 12, 1916 – January 29, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Francisco, California, from 1968 to 1976. Biography Alioto was born in San Francisco in 1916. His father, Giuseppe A ...

, 1933 – Mayor of San Francisco from 1968 to 1976 * Jim Delaney, 1939 – athlete, silver medal winner in shot put 1948 Olympic Games * Bob Marshall, 1952 – Mayor of

San Bruno, California San Bruno () is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States census. The city is between South San Francisco, California, South San Francisco and Millbrae, Cali ...

(1980-1992) * Jim Gentile, 1952 – Major League baseball player *

Frank Jordan Francis Michael Jordan (born February 20, 1935) is an American politician and former police chief who served as the mayor of San Francisco from 1992 to 1996. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Early life and education Jordan was born in ...

, 1953 – Mayor of San Francisco from 1992 to 1996 *

John Patrick Diggins John Patrick Diggins (April 1, 1935 – January 28, 2009) was an American professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, Princeton University, and the City University of New York Graduate Center. He was the author/editor of more ...

, 1953 – American historian and professor *

Gary Lucchesi Gary Lucchesi (born January 4, 1955, in San Francisco, California) is an American film producer who was President of Lakeshore Entertainment and past President of The Producers Guild of America. Career Lucchesi began his career at The William ...

, 1973 – American film producer * Kevin Gogan, 1983 – Professional football player for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, Los Angeles / Oakland Raiders,

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

* Joe Peterson, 1983 – Professional football player for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

* Eric White, 1983 – Professional basketball player * Justin Love, 1996 – Professional basketball player *

Shannon Rowbury Shannon Solares-Rowbury (born September 19, 1984) is an American middle-distance runner from San Francisco, California. After competing collegiately for Duke University, she turned professional in 2007. Rowbury has represented the United States ...

, 2002 – United States Olympic Runner and outdoor distance medley relay record holder * Jason Hill, 2003 – Professional Football Player * Doug Parrish, 2010 – Professional football player * Joshua Fox, 2011 – Professional basketball player * Celeste Boureille, 2012 – Professional soccer player * Jacky Yip (Stewie2K), 2015 – Professional E-Sports player for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive *

Keith Ismael Keith Ismael (born July 25, 1998) is an American professional football center. He played college football at San Diego State and was selected by the then-Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft. College career Ismael was bo ...

, 2016 – Professional football player for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

References

External links

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1852 Educational institutions established in 1874

Catholic secondary schools in California High schools in San Francisco Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco Boys' schools in the United States 1874 establishments in California 1852 establishments in California