St Rita of Cascia High School - Cascian Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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On July 13th, 1905, Rev. James Francis Green, O.S.A., the first religious superior for the Augustini- ans in the Midwest, was granted a charter by the Illinois State Legislature to build a college and a high school. After the charter was granted, ground was bro- ken in September of 1905, and Father Green, the school's first principal, laid the cornerstone in Octo- ber. Six months later, on April 22, 1906, the build- ing was finished and was called St. Rita College. The school was dedicated to St. Rita, a 15th Cen- tury nun who earned her reputation for heroic sanc- tity as a member of the second order of St. Augus- tine in Cascia, Italy. In September 1906 St. Rita, a combination school, parish church, and rectory, registered 14 students to its two-year business course and four- year college preparatory course. It was a two-story building with, a chapel on the first floor, and class- rooms and Augustinian living quarters on the sec- ond floor. --- . ..k,srA'A .

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Soon after the structure was in use, a third floor was added to the school, and it housed more class- rooms and more living quarters for the priests. St. Rita High School began to grow rapidly while the college never really got off the ground. Hopes for its establishment were soon abandoned when the high school began to grow. ln June of 1908, the school was ready to produce its first graduating class - one student. Joseph Coppinger completed the two-year business program and was the only graduate that year. Fr. William Egan became the principal in 1922 t x and started the school,s expansion process by build- ing a gymnasium. In September of 1920, 193 stu- dents were registered, and in 1923 the gymnasiurr was completed and dedicated to Fr. John J. Harris who was the athletic director from 1920 to l927l The school began to take its present shape after t c gym was built Fr. Egan felt that the school also needed m u modern classrooms and science laboratories. Eg Hall went under construction and was September 1926, was three stories high, and many classrooms along with many science labs. ...W A