Saint Mary's Academy and College

Saint Mary's Academy and College is a religious school of the Society of St. Pius X located in St. Marys, in the U.S. state of Kansas, 25 miles (40 km) west of Topeka.

Not to be confused with University of Saint Mary.

Saint Mary's Academy and College
MottoInstaurare Omnia in Christo
(To Restore All Things in Christ)
TypeReligious School,
Society of St. Pius X
Established1978
PrincipalRev. Fr. Patrick Rutledge, Rector[1]
Undergraduates682+ (Academy) (2008)[1]
Postgraduates50+ (College) (2008)[1]
Location
St. Marys
,
Kansas
,
U.S.
CampusSuburban
ColorsBlue and White
MascotCrusaders
Websitesmac.edu

The original St. Mary's College

The original college at this location, St. Mary's College, was founded by the Jesuits in 1848 as an Indian mission.[2] The school is the site of the first cathedral west of the Missouri River and east of the Rockies,[3] the 1851 "log cathedral" of Bishop John Baptist Miège, S.J., Apostolic Vicar of Kansas under Pope Pius IX known familiarly as "The Bishop East of the Rockies".[4]

When the Potawatomi left, the Jesuits turned it into a boarding school for boys, until it closed during the depression. After 1931 the 465 acre (1.9 km²) plot hosted the divinity school of St. Louis University.[5] With the movement of seminaries to the city after Vatican II, the land was sold and the Jesuit divinity school returned to St. Louis in 1967.[1]

Saint Mary's Academy and College

In 1978, the Society of Saint Pius X acquired the property along with 12 major buildings. The school is now incorporated in Kansas as The Society of Saint Pius X, Saint Mary's, Inc. It has no ties with the previous St. Marys College.[1]

As of 2014, the Academy had an enrollment of over 800 students K-12 and the two-year college had an enrollment above 90 in a liberal arts curriculum. St. Mary's does not have a seminary program. St Mary's offers boarding for students in the 8th grade and higher.[6]

In 2002, the governor of Kansas formally recognized Saint Mary's Academy and College for the excellence of its educational curriculum. While neither the Academy nor the College are accredited by any accreditation agencies, they do operate with approval from the Kansas Board of Regents.

The school operates its own radio station, KSMK-LP 98.3 FM, since 2002.

The Academy teams play in the Kansas Christian League in football and soccer and against some non-league teams.[7][8]

St. Mary's Academy and College is also a traditional Catholic parish of approximately 4,300 persons (2014).[9]

Controversy

In February 2008, St. Mary's Academy made news when a female referee was told that she could not officiate at the high school basketball game. The other referee allegedly claimed that someone told him it was because "as a woman," she "could not be put in a position of authority over boys because of the academy's beliefs". The Academy denied this "belief". St. Mary's Academy is on the Kansas State High School Activities Association list of approved schools and can play games against member schools, but is not a KSHSAA member.[10]

St. Mary's official reply to the incident was in a press release:[11]

This alleged reason was neither stated nor is it held by any official of St. Mary's Academy, as evidenced by the fact that the faculty and staff of St. Mary's includes many honorable ladies of talent and erudition....
St. Mary's Academy follows the directives of the Catholic Church regarding co-education. The Church has always promoted the ideal of forming and educating boys and girls separately during the adolescent years, especially in physical education (Cf. Divini Illius Magistri - Encyclical on the Christian Education of Youth, by Pope Pius XI, 1929 and The Instruction of the Sacred Congregation of Religious on Co-Education, A.A.S., 25 (1958) pp. 99-103). This formation of adolescent boys is best accomplished by male role models, as the formation of girls is best accomplished by women. Hence in boys' athletic competitions, it is important that the various role models (coaches and referees) be men.

The school has been reinstated on the KSHSAA's approved school list.[12]

In 2004, the school forfeited a football game against White City High School because the opponent had a girl on the team.[13]

Notable people
Alumni
Faculty
  • Ernest Quigley (1880-1960) - basketball referee, umpire in Major League Baseball, football coach at Kansas Wesleyan University. At St. Mary's College, he was coach, teacher, athletic director from 1903 to 1912.
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References
  1. History of the Site visited June 2011 {http://www.anewimmaculata.org/history.html} Archived 2012-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Kinsella, Thomas H. (1921). A centenary of Catholicity in Kansas, 1822-1922 ; the history of our cradle land (Miami and Linn Counties) ; Catholic Indian missions and missionaries of Kansas ; The pioneers on the prairies : notes on St. Mary's Mission, Sugar Creek, Linn County; Holy Trinity Church, Paola, Miami County; Holy Rosary Church, Wea; Immaculate Conception, B.V.M., Louisburg; St. Philip's Church, Osawatomie; Church of the Assumption, Edgerton, Johnson County; to which is added a short sketch of the Ursuline Academy at Paola; the diary of Father Hoecken, and old Indian records. Kansas City : Casey Printing.
  3. While school literature refers to Bishop Miege's cathedral as the first cathedral in the United States west of the Mississippi, in Mexico Upper California was part of the Diocese of Sonora, which was established in 1779 by Pius VI and, after 1840 it was under the bishop of Alta and Baja (Upper and Lower) California until the establishment of the Diocese of Monterey in 1850. The Diocese of St Louis, Missouri, was established in 1826 and the cornerstone of the current Basilica laid in 1831 on the western bank of the Mississippi River, or essentially ON the river.
  4. Timeline of the Mission and Bishop Miege {http://www.smac.edu/?TimeLine1848to1869}
  5. Dosen, Anthony J. (2009). Catholic Higher Education in the 1960s: Issues of Identity, Issues of Governance. IAP. p. 72. ISBN 9781931576314.
  6. About SMA visited June 2011 {http://www.anewimmaculata.org/about.html} Archived 2012-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
  7. 2010-2011 Ks Christian League Standings {http://www.maxpreps.com/league/xavfhAlAO0iNm_psr0mRSg/standings-kansas-christian-aa-(8-man).htm}%5B%5D
  8. St Marys Academy 2010-2011 football schedule {http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/M2EEckEC20OpuHGz87auEA/st-marys-academy-crusaders/football-fall-10/schedule.htm}%5B%5D
  9. About the SMA Parrish {http://www.smac.edu/?ParishMain}
  10. Sports Illustrated February 13, 2008 Kansas HS refuses female official
  11. Washington post article with quote {http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/prayingfields/2008/03/gender_and_religion_on_the_bas.html}
  12. Kansas State High School Athletic Association Membership Directory
  13. "Newspaper Archives - The Kansan - Newton, KS". The Kansan. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
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