University of San Francisco - USF Don Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

Page 19 text:

20, 1878, as Bishop O’Connell of Grass Valley blessed the cornerstone for the new church and college. On February 2, 1880, Bishop Healy of Portland, Maine, blessed the college, and instruction commenced that very day with 650 students in attendance. (The beautiful new church had been dedicated on the previous day by Archbishop Alemany.) By 1882, the number of students had risen to 780. Phe history of the institution from 1882-1906 is that of a growing college which registered substantial gains in many fields. The faculty was increased with the rise in student attendance, and St. Ignatius’ College became justly famed as a center of educational activities. In 1905 the Golden Jubilee celebration was held, and felicitations were received from Pius X. An unprecedented period of expansion was ahead when, on April 18, 1906, came the catastrophic blow of earthquake and tire, which destroyed the work of half a century. 'Phe college was ruined, and Father Frieden, then President, sadly telegraphed the laconic words to Rome: “Ignatius fuit”; “St. Ignatius once existed!” Although saddened beyond measure by the utter destruction of their educational and religious establishment, the Jesuit Fathers courageously devoted themselves to the work of reconstruction. Ground was acquired on Hayes Street, near Golden Gate Park, and Father Frieden and his companions nerved themselves anew to recommence the work of building St. Ignatius’ College. Pioneer days were relived and pioneer hardships were felt once more during these early unsettled years. It was decided to build a “temporary” church and college at Hayes and Shrader Streets, until funds should be forthcoming for a better establishment. However, the college was to occupy its “temporary” quarters for over twenty years, until 1927! In August, 1927, pioneer days again came to an end with the opening of the new and spacious Liberal Arts Building on Ignatian Heights. Krected in the shadow of the previously constructed church, it was blessed on October 9, 1927, by Archbishop F.dward J. Hanna. Phe Diamond Jubilee of the college was held in 1930, when the city of San Francisco feted the pioneer Jesuits who had so ably trained generations of San Franciscans. At this time, the name of the institution was changed to the University of San Francisco. On Sunday, October 19, Archbishop Hanna celebrated pontifical mass in the athletic field before a large assembly of well-wishers, and the late lamented Cardinal Hayes of New York gave the sermon. In 1931, progress was registered in the addition of classroom and laboratory space by the extension of the west wing. Jesuit “Thirty-Niners” • On July 16, 1938, Father William J. Dunne succeeded to the presidency of the University of San Fracnisco. He succeeded Rev. Harold Ring, S. J. Latest figures give a total of 935 in attendance at the day and night sessions of the institution. With its foundation work accomplished, the University is fast becoming a power of religious and cultural influence under the Jesuit “thirty-niners.” It is indeed a far cry from Father Maraschi and his one-room college of 1855 to the modern university of today. Yet the spirit, the aims and ideals of those in charge are substantially the same, and the present day “Jesuits in San Francisco” are proud to consider themselves successors of the early Fathers whose labor and sacrifices are responsible for present-day success. They look forward confidently to the future of the “Hilltop,” placing their hope in God for the future progress of the University of San Francisco—San Francisco's Own University.

Page 18 text:

History of the UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO It was on December 8, 1849, that a schooner slipped through the picturesque Golden Gate and dropped anchor in San Francisco Bay. The craft was five days out from Portland, and another day was required before its passengers could set foot on land. Consequently, on December 9, Father Michael Accolti and Father John Xobili, the first of the long line of “San Francisco Jesuits,” landed at the scene of their apostolate. True, Father Eusebius Kino, the Jesuit missionary-explorer, had touched California’s shores in 1700, but his stay was of the briefest, and Jesuit Action in California did not get under way until the advent of the two Italian Fathers, Michael Accolti and John Nobili. What kind of a city did the Jesuits find? Accolti has left us a vivid description: “Whether San Francisco ought to be called madhouse or Babylon I am at a loss to determine, so great was the disorder, the brawling and the reign of brazen-faced crime on a soil not yet under the sway of human laws.” Into this atmosphere, the two Jesuits plunged, and the results of their initial zeal are evident in the modern University of San Francisco. Jesuit “Forty-Niners” • Although Xobili and Accolti were the first Jesuits in the city, it was another Italian priest who was to begin the Society’s formal work of education in San Francisco. This was Father Anthony Maraschi, a member of the Turin Province, who arrived in San Francisco on November 1, 1854. It was not long before he was asking the first Archbishop, Joseph Alemanv, O. P., to designate a spot for the proposed college. His Excellency answered with a sweep of his hand towards the vast sand-dunes on which most of the city is now built, and said: “Any place out there!” Market Street, between Fourth and Fifth, then not even graded or open to traffic, was selected as the site. A plain wooden building was the first St. Ignatius’ College. Situated behind the church, it consisted of one large room, and instruction commenced on October 15, 1855, when Richard McCabe was enrolled as the first pupil. After a few months, classes were interrupted for a short time, due to fewness of students, but Father Maraschi was not daunted and used to say: “Here, in time, will be the heart of a great city!” The need for a new college soon became imperative. Consequently, on May 11,1862, the site of the second church and college was blessed. This was but a short distance from the first unit, and San Francisco’s mighty Emporium now stands on the spot. By December, the new building was complete and proved so attractive that the number of students soon exceeded 450. In 1870, Father Bayma added a three-story, rambling structure—more useful than ornamental—which provided sixteen more classrooms. But already the Fathers were planning to move west with the expanding city, for it was early evident that their present site would soon be located in a busy commercial district. In 1878, Father Yarsi informed Archbishop Alemanv that Rome had approved plans for a greater St. Ignatius’ College—to be built on “lot 74 of the W estern Addition.” A great throng crowded the new site on Hayes Street and Van Ness Avenue on October

Page 20 text:

Contents i ADMIKIST RATION I I CLASSES 111 ACTIVITIES IV O R G A N IZ AT IONS V SPORTS VI FEATURES