Salesianum School 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 ...

independent school for boys located in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. It is run independently within the Diocese of Wilmington and is operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The current enrollment is about 930 students, declining from a peak of about 1,100 in recent years, from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Salesianum has established a close connection with Lycée Saint Michel, another Oblate high school, located in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

, France. Salesianum was named one of the Top 50 Catholic High Schools in America by the Catholic Honor Roll in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Campus

The campus is home to the school itself as well as a gymnasium. In addition to the campus, the athletic program also makes use of Wilmington's newly constructed Abessinio Stadium, formerly Baynard Stadium, which is located directly across from the school. In 2023, the school was given a $10 million donation by alumnus Anthony Fusco to build a new athletic facility.

Athletics

Salesianum School has won 200

Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) is an organization that oversees and regulates interscholastic athletics in the US State of Delaware. The DIAA is headquartered at the John W. Collette Education Resource Center in Dover. ...

(DIAA) approved boys' state championships as of summer 2025, with particular success in cross country, swimming, lacrosse, and soccer. Salesianum won its first state championship in basketball, led by Donte DiVincenzo and Brian O'Neill (American football), in 2014 and latest one in 2023. Salesianum's historical rival is St. Mark's High School, which is located in Newark, DE. Their fall meeting in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

is commonly referred to as "The Holy War". The soccer team won 11 state championships between 2002 and 2014, and in 2013 defeated Saint Benedict's Preparatory School, the top ranked high school program in the nation, on a game-winning goal scored by Joseph Dolce. They finished the season ranked as the number two high school team in the country. The 2016 soccer team finished the season ranked sixth in the nation by ''

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'' on its final Super 25 Expert Rankings. The cross country team has won 37 of the 42 DIAA state boys' championships, losing only five years between 1972 and 2013. The Salesianum

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

team has won ten consecutive state boys' championships between 2005 and 2015, and 11 of 12 from 2005-2017.

History

Original Salesianum - 8th and West Streets

Salesianum (Latin for "House of Sales", referring to

St. Francis de Sales Francis de Sales, C.O., O.M. (; ; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Savoyard Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Geneva and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the rel ...

) was founded in 1903 and was located at 8th and West Streets until the move to its current location in 1957. In 1950, Rev. Thomas Lawless, OSFS, a 1908 graduate of Salesianum, admitted five African American students four years prior to the ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

'' decision which made it mandatory, thus making Salesianum the first racially integrated school in the state of Delaware. The school was recognized for this with a historical marker. In August 2012, the Wilmington/Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales published a letter stating, "Since 2004, the Wilmington/Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales has been named in lawsuits in the Superior Court of Delaware filed by 40 plaintiffs, each of which contained allegations of sexual abuse of a minor." The letter named 12 oblates who had been involved and expressed regrets, stating, "The abuse of children by priests and other clergy is shocking, reprehensible, and devastating to all whose trust has been shattered by their selfish deeds." This followed a settlement in August 2011 of 39 lawsuits against the school and the order, with the order and its insurers paying $24.8 million to be shared between the plaintiffs.

Notable alumni

Academia

Arts, Entertainment, Media, and Literature

Business

Government

Military

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, on December 7, 1941, during the Japanese

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JAG Corps; professor at

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Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine

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Sports

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Washington Redskins 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) NFC East, East ...

, and

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Other

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References

{{Reflist

External links

{{Commons category, Salesianum * {{Official website, https://www.salesianum.org/ {{Wilmington, Delaware {{Education in New Castle County, Delaware {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, state=collapsed {{Boys' schools in Philadelphia {{Salesians, state=collapsed {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1903 Boys' schools in Delaware High schools in New Castle County, Delaware Salesian secondary schools Catholic secondary schools in Delaware Schools in Wilmington, Delaware Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington 1903 establishments in Delaware