Foundation Of the Augustinian Academy - How It All Began

It was a bright warm Tuesday morning in the fall of 1961, September 5th to be exact, that the New Augustinian Academy opened its doors to one hundred and thirty five young men. They came from fifty-five parishes, and were members of the freshman class in the newest boys high school in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

This college preparatory school is the first Augustinian foundation in the St. Louis area. The Academy is located on what was the campus of Maryville College, conducted by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

The college campus, eighteen acres, and the buildings were purchased by his Eminence Joseph Cardinal Ritter and donated to the Augustinians for the specific purpose of conducting a boys’ high school.

The Cardinal’s letter, written on the occasion of the school’s first Foundation Day Dinner, is as follows:

Office of the Cardinal Archbishop
4445 Lindell Boulevard
St. Louis, MO
March 14, 1962

Dear Father Seary:

It is a pleasure to welcome the Augustinian fathers to the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

The foundation of the ancient order of St. Augustine at what was formerly Maryville has enriched our Archdiocese spiritually and educationally. It was the establishment of a high school, the Augustinian Academy that was the happy occasion of the coming of the Augustinian Fathers to us. Yours was the generous answer to our need and we will always be grateful to you.

May your St. Louis Community and the Academy prosper beyond measure and again may I assure you of a hearty welcome to St. Louis.

Imparting my blessing, I am.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Joseph Cardinal Ritter
Archbishop of St. Louis

The Very Rev. John L. Seary, O.S.A.
Provincial, Mother of Good Counsel Province

TOLENTINE COLLEGE
Augustinian Major Seminary
Olympia Fields, Illinois

Office of the Provincial
April 13, 1962


I should like to congratulate you the faculty, the Student Body, and the parents on the occasion of the First Foundation Day Dinner to be held at the Augustinian Academy in St. Louis on May 14, 1962.

We are very grateful to His Eminence Cardinal Ritter for inviting us to participate in the great work of the Church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. May God be please to bestow His blessing upon or Fathers, brothers, Clerics, Students, parents and friends of the Academy not only on this occasion but for all times.

We are deeply grateful for the excellent welcome we have received in St. Louis from our fellow priests, both those of the secular and the regular clergy. The people have not only received us well but have shown a deep interest in our work and in interesting others in helping us to further the work of Catholic education. Our Fathers join with me in best wishes for the complete success of the new Academy.

Very Rev. John L. Seary, O.S.A.
Provincial