St Augustine School history

Born on July 12, 1872, in the old family homestead at 51 East Eleventh Street (now the location of Covington Latin School), Kathmann knew from an early age that he wanted to pursue the priesthood and devote his life to ministry.

The Sisters of Notre Dame would run the school and continue to teach the children of Peaselburg as they have since 1875.

Robbers in 1877, had since expired by limitation, and he immediately restored the church to its original title of “St Augustine.” Within the year, he moved to acquire property for a new church and school, taking options on a piece of property at Nineteenth Street opposite Howell Avenue.

Kathmann on June 29, 1900, in the old St Mary’s Cathedral on Eighth Street in Covington.

He went on to work for the Cincinnati firm of Burton & Brown and came to Bishop Maes’ attention in 1907.

On May 8, 1913, the first shovel of dirt was overturned.

A 1915 postcard showing the “new” St Augustine Church. (Courtesy of St Augustine Archives.)

The cornerstone was laid the following January, and the building was completed in September 1916 at a total cost of $39,498.30.

In 1920, St Augustine celebrated its Golden Jubilee.

Kathmann would later officiate the marriage of Mary Harmeling and Frank Pranger in 1922. (Harmeling Photo Collection, courtesy of Larry Pranger.)

On Sunday June 28, 1925, he celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood with a high mass in the church.

St Augustine High School was founded in 1951 by the Society of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (The Josephite Fathers and Brothers) through the Youth Progress Program of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

By 1953, over 100 pupils were enrolled in first grade.

In 1954, another parish was ordered to be built in the eastern part of Jeffersonville by Archbishop Schulte in order to help ease the growing membership burden.

Within this period, St Augustine presented its first graduating class in 1955, and early alumni began to blaze trails in collegiate atmospheres where African- Americans were once excluded.

In September 1959, 27 students, a mixture of both seminarians and traditional day students, became the Prep’s first class.

The first graduating class in 1963 numbered only 15 students.

In 1967, St Augustine won a legal battle, which led to the desegregation of Louisiana high school sports as well as the school’s admittance into the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.

By 1968, with two new sister parishes only a few miles away, a new interstate highway running through downtown, and the beginning of urban flight, the school found itself with only 158 students in all eight grades by.

As a result of this declining enrollment, at the end of the following school year, in 1969, the school closed its doors for the final time.

The first physical expansion of the school took place in 1971 with the addition of a wing to accommodate new science laboratories, a gymnasium, and athletic complex as well as a music complex.

In 2001, the school celebrated its 50th anniversary with a mass held at St Louis Cathedral.

In 2002, the Marching 100 participated in the Tournaments of Roses Parade, again using its musical platform to bring favorable attention to the school and city of New Orleans.

Plans to serve more students began to unfold when the St Augustine Academy for students in grades 7-9 opened in 2005.

In January of 2006, the administrations of St Mary’s Academy, St Augustine High School, and Xavier University Preparatory collaborated to establish the MAX School of New Orleans.

The year 2009 marked the 140th anniversary of the humble beginning of St Augustine School.