College of the Holy Cross history

The first class graduated in 1849, led by the valedictorian James Augustine Healy, the mixed-race son of an Irish planter in Georgia and his common-law wife, a mulatto former slave.

In spite of very limited finances, the College was beginning to grow until in the summer of 1852 a catastrophic fire destroyed it.

Funds were raised to rebuild the college, and in 1853 it opened for the second time.

Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Notre Dame Fields: Catholicism in the U. S. United States History, 1865-Present; American Religious History; Latin American History; United States Latino/a History Email: jpoche@holycross.edu Office: O'Kane 390Phone: (508) 793-3448 Additional Information »

Professor Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley Fields: Modern Germany; Europe, especially since 1945; History of science Email: ncary@holycross.edu Office: O'Kane 357 Phone: (508) 793-2705 Additional Information »

In 1968 the Jesuit superior general, Father Pedro Arrupe, refocused the order with “a preferential option for the poor,” and the Jesuit ranks experienced a rise in the popularity of liberation theology, which holds that ministry should include involvement in the political struggle of the poor.

Women were first admitted to Holy Cross in 1972.

Notable alumni include basketball player Bob Cousy and surgeon Joseph E. Murray, who was a cowinner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1990.

The campaign for Holy Cross ended in fiscal 2006 with $216.3 million raised, surpassing its original goal of $175 million.

In 2013 Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina became Pope Francis, the first Jesuit to be elected pope.

In early 2018, the college began publicly exploring the possibility of changing its "Crusader" mascot and associated imagery.