Sacred Heart School opened in 1880 with 150 applicants, two rooms in the church basement and two lay teachers. In 1882, six teachers from the Sisters of Charity arrived to provide help and lived in a frame cottage on 28th and Larimer Street. Enrollment continued to increase and in 1889, pastor Reverend John B. Guida, S. J., began raising money from European benefactors for a school and convent. Eventually, $52,000 was obtained and on February 3, 1890, Bishop Nicholas C. Matz, blessed the new school at 2840 Lawrence Street.
Sacred Heart School initially contained only the elementary grades, but by 1896 had added grades nine through twelve. In 1912, tuition was $1 a month for first, second and third graders; $2 a year for pupils of intermediate grades and high school. Non-members of the parish paid $1 a month in advance.
The Depression was instrumental in declining enrollment as young people left to find work and Sacred Heart High School was forced to close in 1939. The elementary school remained open until economics forced the Sisters of Cincinnati and the Jesuits to close its doors in 1976.
The school and its graduates were held in high regard by educators, employers and the community. Notable graduates of the school included Bishop Hubert Newell, Bishop of Cheyenne, Father William Ryan, S. J., one time Dean of Regis College, Joseph Walsh, District Judge, Thomas Morrissey, U. S. District Attorney, and radio entertainer Ted Mack.
In 2003, the school was dedicated as Centro San Juan Diego, the Hispanic institute for pastoral and family care, empowering Hispanics through education, to become leaders in the Catholic Church and in society.
Photo of class of 1934 courtesy of Jan Gisewski Garland.
