Ursuline Academy (Illinois)

Last updated
Ursuline Academy
Ursuline Academy.JPG
Address
1400 North Fifth
Springfield , Illinois
USA
Coordinates 39°49′09″N89°38′57″W / 39.8192°N 89.6493°W / 39.8192; -89.6493 Coordinates: 39°49′09″N89°38′57″W / 39.8192°N 89.6493°W / 39.8192; -89.6493
Information
Type Private secondary
Denomination Roman Catholic
Established 1857
Closed 2007
Principal John Stimler (at close)
Grades 9–12
Color(s) Red and White         
NewspaperU Scribble

Ursuline Academy was a Catholic high school in Springfield, Illinois that operated from 1857 until 2007. In its final years, it was affiliated with Springfield College in Illinois (SCI). Ursuline Academy billed itself as a college preparatory school. One offshoot of its partnership with SCI was a program which allowed high school students to simultaneously receive high school and college credit for courses. [1]

Springfield, Illinois Capital of Illinois

Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. The city's population of 116,250 as of the 2010 U.S. Census makes it the state's sixth most populous city. It is the largest city in central Illinois. As of 2013, the city's population was estimated to have increased to 117,006, with just over 211,700 residents living in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Sangamon County and the adjacent Menard County.

Contents

History

Ursuline Academy was founded in 1857 by Mother Mary Joseph Wolfe, with its location at 5th and Mason streets. The academy moved to its current and final location on 5th Street, north of Eastman, in 1867. The school originally opened as an all-girls school. Enrollment was so low by the late 1970s that the academy had no choice but to become co-educational in 1981.[ citation needed ]

The Ursuline Sisters established SCI in 1929 on the property owned by the academy. On January 15, 2003, Benedictine University, located in Lisle, Illinois, entered into a partnership with SCI. Over the next four years, the Ursuline Sisters withdrew from the academy, moving out of the convent completely in 2005. [2]

Ursulines religious institutes of the Catholic Church

The term Ursulines refers to a number of religious institutes of the Catholic Church. The best known group was founded in 1535 at Brescia, Italy, by Angela Merici (1474–1540), for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula. They are divided into two branches, one being the monastic Order of St. Ursula, among whom the largest group is the Ursulines of the Roman Union, described in this article. The other branch is the Company of St. Ursula, commonly called the "Angelines", who follow the original form of life established by their foundress.

Benedictine University private Roman Catholic university located in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Benedictine University is a private Roman Catholic university in Lisle, Illinois. The school was founded in 1887 as St. Procopius College by the Benedictine monks of St. Procopius Abbey in the Pilsen community on the West Side of Chicago. The institution has retained a close relationship with the Benedictine Order, which bears the name of St. Benedict, the acknowledged father of western monasticism.

Lisle, Illinois Village in Illinois, United States

Lisle is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,182 at the 2000 census, and in 2016 the population was recorded to be 22,930. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. It is also the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III.

Closing

On May 11, 2007, the SCI-BU (Benedictine University) Board of Directors made the decision to close Ursuline at the end of the 2006–2007 school year. They notified Ursuline Principal, John Stimler, the following day, and the students were then notified on May 14. [3]

After closing

The buildings were put on an historic preservation list, Landmarks Illinois, due to the efforts of alumna Sarah Jones in 2008. [4]

The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois -- also known as Landmarks Illinois -- is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1971 to prevent the demolition of the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan designed Chicago Stock Exchange Building. Although this effort failed the organization has grown to become a 2000-member statewide voice for historic preservation.

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References

  1. ↑ 4+1 Academic Program, Ursuline Academy. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
  2. ↑ Ursuline Sisters: Laurels Newsletter Archive
  3. ↑ Starting over: Veteran Ursuline teacher finds a new home at Springfield High
  4. ↑ Ursuline makes landmark list: Alumna’s efforts bring attention to school’s status
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