Our School History

In May of 1960, Father John McLoraine was appointed by Albert Cardinal Meyer to organize a new parish in the vicinity of Wolf Road and Central Road. The nucleus of the parish was 900 families previously belonging to other area parishes. Masses were held at Maryville Academy until a church could be built.

Ground for the new school was broken on March 12, 1961. The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth opened the parish school on September 6, 1961 with an enrollment of 345 children. Six classrooms were converted into a temporary church and Mass celebrations were moved from Maryville to the new school building.

Enrollment continued to grow and plans for new building space were prepared. A new parish hall (the current gym) was constructed by August 1964, which was then used as a temporary church allowing the previously used rooms to be changed back into classrooms.

The parish hall was soon too small to accommodate the large groups who came for Masses, necessitating the use of three various locations for Sunday Masses: the parish hall, the school basement (Sullivan Hall), and a neighboring public school (Euclid). A total of 12 Masses were celebrated each Sunday. When the parish debt was fully paid, permission was given for the building of a permanent church structure. The new church was dedicated on May 9, 1971.

Since 1961, over 3,000 students have graduated from the school who call themselves “St. Emily Eagles.” We are certainly proud of their accomplishments and of our outstanding record these past 60 years of forming “Saints and Scholars.”