St. Rita of Cascia High School

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St. Rita of Cascia High School is an all-male Augustinian Roman Catholic high school located on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It has approximately 800 students.

St. Rita of Cascia High School
Motto: Veritas Unitas Caritas ("Truth, Unity, Love")
Established	1905
Type	Private, Secondary, All Male
Principal	Rev. Thomas McCarthy O.S.A.
Students	800
Grades	9–12
Location	Chicago, Illinois USA
Campus	Urban
Colors	Red and White
Mascot	Mustangs
Yearbook	The Cascian
Newspaper	The Ritan
Website	http://www.stritahs.com

1 History
2 Patron Saint
3 The Augustinian Order in North America
4 Notable alumni
5 Athletics
6 External links

[edit] History

The School was founded in 1905 by the Very Rev. James F. Green, O.S.A. Construction of what was Green Hall was the initial step in forming the original campus. Student enrollment mounted rapidly and in 1922, when the pressure of other duties necessitated Fr. Green's retirement from scholastic work, St. Rita High School had become established in Chicago as one of the leading secondary schools.

Successor to the founder was the Very Rev. William L. Egan, O.S.A., during whose incumbency the original Harris Gym and Egan Hall were completed. The Very Rev. Joseph B. Kepperling, O.S.A. followed Father Egan in 1926, but his splendid work was brought to an untimely close by his death on June 4, 1929. The Very Rev. John J. Harris, O.S.A. was selected as the next rector to direct St. Rita's destiny.

In the summer of 1935, the Rev. Ruellan P. Fink, O.S.A. succeeded Father Harris. Father Fink was the motivating spirit of many noteworthy developments, of which the most important achievement was the installation of a technical course in 1936.

Father Fink also began an extensive expansion program as evidenced by the erection of the Mendel technical building, completed in June 1938, and the addition to Egan Hall, completed in August 1939. A modern concrete stadium was built in 1946 and the new monastery was completed in May 1949.

Rev. John E. McLaughlin, O.S.A. succeeded Father Fink in 1956 as Principal. In 1962 Rev. Francis P. Crawford, O.S.A. became Principal. He was succeeded in 1968 by the Very Rev. Daniel B. Trusch, O.S.A. In 1971 Rev. LaVern J. Flach, O.S.A. became Principal; in 1979 Rev. David L. Brecht, O.S.A., in 1983 Rev. Patrick E. Murphy, O.S.A. became Principal and in 1989 Rev. Bernard R. Danber, O.S.A. was appointed Principal. Both Fr. Murphy and Fr. Danber are graduates of St. Rita High School.

On June 27, 1990, Rev. Bernard R. Danber O.S.A. was given the keys to the new campus at 7740 South Western Ave. In 1993 a new president-principal model was adopted for the school. Rev. Michael J. O'Connor, O.S.A. became the school's first president. Rev. O'Connor appointed Mr. Joseph F. Bamberger as Principal. In the year 2000 Rev. Thomas McCarthy O.S.A. was then named the second President and the first alumni president of St. Rita High School. In the spring of 2002 Rev. McCarthy, O.S.A. became President-Principal after Mr. Joseph F. Bamberger retired after 42 years of dedicated service to St. Rita High School.

In 2006, St. Rita was named one of 96 "outstanding" high schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The Catholic high school honor roll named St. Rita one of the 25 top academic institutions in the United States.

St. Rita High School has been the source of many leaders of the Chicagoland area for the past 100 years. In 1990 the St. Rita Campus moved from 63rd and Claremont Avenue to 77th and Western Avenue. Prior to St. Rita's purchase of the 77th and Western campus, Quigley Seminary South High School resided there. The Archdiocese of Chicago closed Quigley South prior to St. Rita's purchase of the property.

[edit] Patron Saint

Saint Rita of Cascia

St. Rita of Cascia was wife, mother (of twins), and after the murder of her husband and the death her two sons, she spent 40 years as a nun living the Rule of St. Augustine in the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalen at Cascia. She now is a pre-eminent Augustinian saint, canonized in 1900.

[edit] The Augustinian Order in North America

The North American foundation of the order happened in 1796 when Irish friars arrived in Philadelphia. Michael Hurley was the first American to join the Order the following year. Friars established schools, Universities and other works throughout the Americas, also including Villanova University in Philadelphia (USA) and Merrimack College (USA). Malvern Preparatory School was founded in 1842 alongside Villanova University, and by 1909 two Augustinian houses and this school had been established in Chicago, 1922 in San Diego, by 1925 a school in Ojai and Los Angeles; 1926 a school in Oklahoma; in 1947 a college in Massachusetts; in 1953 a school in Pennsylvania; 1959 a school in New Jersey and in 1962 a school in Illinois.

[edit] Notable alumni

Jim Clancy, former pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays
Ed Farmer, former Major League Baseball player and current radio voice for the Chicago White Sox
David Fee, current USA Eagles Rugby Team Player
Edward Rowan Finnegan, former U.S. Representative
John Husar, former Chicago Tribune Sports Writer
Dennis Lick, former American football player for the Chicago Bears
Ray Manzarek, Keyboardist for The Doors
Billy Marek, former American football player for the University of Wisconsin
Ahmad Merritt, American football player
Tony Simmons, American football player
Paul Standring, current American football player for the University of Wisconsin

[edit] Athletics

St. Rita competes in the Chicago Catholic League, generally regarded as one of the best conferences in Illinois.

The 1963 football team was recognized as National Champions.

St. Rita won the IHSA State Championship in football in 1978.

St. Rita won the IHSA 7A State Football Championship in 2006 by defeating Lake Zurich High School 35-21. Highlights included a 94-yard kickoff return touchdown by Darian Hood.

The original football stadium at 63rd and Claremont was used in the beginning of the movie Rudy.