Regis College - Ranger Yearbook (Denver, CO)

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The Story oi Fifty Years ginning that a successful Catholic college could not be founded in Albuquerque. Its foundation is now, however, mute testimony to the over ' whelming desire of the people and the Jesuits for the establishment of a Catholic college. In the year 1874, the townspeople themselves of Las Vegas, New Mexico, requested that the proposed college be erected there. Their plans materialized, with the educators 1 consent, and in 1877 Las Vegas College was founded with Fr. Salvador Persone as first president. Before a new school building could be completed, classes were held in a private home donated by a devoted Span- iard. The short history of Las Vegas College can be well summed-up as — hardships patiently borne, Page 7 but not in vain. Fr. Pantanella, upon his acces- sion to the presidency of the institution, was con- vinced that Las Vegas held little future for the project. He then began searching for a more suit- able site for the proposed University of the West. At first, Rome would not grant the per- mission, but a conference with Bishop Machebeuf and a trip to Europe produced the desired results. Fr. Pantanella arrived from Europe, August 4 1884, and two weeks later set out for Morrison, Colorado, to prepare for the formal opening of the College of the Sacred Heart. Most instrumental in the Catholic college be- ginnings in Colorado was the Most Rev. Bishop Machebeuf, Bishop of Colorado. And it was in Late afternoon shadows cross the approach to the Administration Building. W--4 W , ' . , ' IW ' - m - ■£ . • ■■£ hi k ; ■ ' », ,i « m m '

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■HH - The circle drive with the mall beyond. The Story of Fifty Years by FRANCIS C. MAYER From deep in the heart of the College of Nobles, in Naples, Italy, through the old Colo- rado-New Mexico Mission, by the stages of Holy Family school, Las Vegas College, Morrison Col- lege, and from the old College of the Sacred Heart has emerged the greater Regis College of today. Regis College is proud of its glorious past and is looking forward to an even more glorious future. The story of Regis is one of tribute to the per- severance of the Jesuits in their desire for a truly outstanding college. The urgent need for priests prompted Bishop Lamy ' s request for aid from the Jesuits in the year 1866. They accepted the invitation and the first Jesuits arrived at Santa Fe in 1867. Immediately their desires for a school of higher learning were manifested. The result was the first school to come out of the Colorado-New Mexico Mission, Holy Family School founded by Fr. Gasparri in 1873 at Albuquerque, New Mexico. The school was not successful, being abandoned before 1877 to the Sisters of Charity. It was evident from the be- Page 6

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Carroll Hall at high noon. This west side faces the mountains. the foundation of S. H. C. at Morrison and later at Denver that the good Bishop was to see the real ' iz,ation of his dream college. It was through his work and that of Fr. Marra, then head of the en- tire mission, that Sacred Heart College was suc- cessfully founded in 1888 upon the firm basis of thoroughly Catholic principles of education. In 1883 Bishop Machebeuf bought the Swiss Cot- tage, or the Evergreen Hotel , at Morrison, Colo- rado, as it is sometimes referred to, and turned the entire property over to the Jesuits for the contem- plated college. Fr. Pantanella was named the first and, and as time proved, the only rector of S.H.C. at Morrison, Colorado. The enrollment of the College increased from thirty-one the second year of its existence to fifty-four the last year. In con- trast to the Spanish enrollment of Las Vegas, Mor- rison proved to be overwhelmingly Irish. The short history of the College is not with- out details of human interest. Noteworthy among these is the incident relating that in order to se- cure a few unearned holidays, one of the boys was almost successful in his attempt to burn down the school. Whether Morrison was haunted or not is a matter for conflicting opinions. In the spring of the year 1888, it became ap- parent that Morrison was not the site for the pros- pective college. Not only its distance from the city but also the lack of facilities brought about the end of its existence at Morrison. Morrison was formally closed on June 27, 1888. In 1886 it was decided to close Las Vegas College; it was necessary, therefore, to find a lo ' cation for a combination of the two schools. Fr. Page 8