Scecina Memorial High School
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| District | Archdiocese of Indianapolis Office of Catholic Education |
| School type | Parochial |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Opened | September 1953 |
| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana, USA |
| Enrollment 2005-2006 | 356 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Campus surroundings | Residential |
| School Mascot | Crusader |
| School colors | Maroon and Gold |
| School Hours | 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM |
| Average Class Size | 25 |
Scecina Memorial High School is a Roman Catholic, co-educational high school located on the East Side of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is named in honor of Father Thomas Scecina, a priest from Indianapolis who was killed in action while ministering to United States military personnel during the Second World War with the 57th Infantry Division, Fort McKinley, Luzon, Philippines.
[edit] History
Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School was named after the only Indianapolis archdiocesan priest to be killed in World War II. Born in Vicksburg, Indiana, on September 16, 1910, Fr. Scecina was raised by Austrian-Hungarian immigrants in Linton. He attended St. Peter’s Elementary School in the parish where he was baptized. He went to St. Meinrad Seminary, graduated in 1935 and was ordained on June 11. He celebrated his first Mass at St. Peter’s on June 16, and then was assigned in August to Holy Trinity parish in Indianapolis.
In 1938 Fr. Scecina began a stay at St. John’s in Indianapolis, where he also taught at the girls’ academy. He enlisted in the Chaplain’s Reserve Corps on October 5, 1939, and was stationed with the 57th Infantry Division at Fort McKinley on Luzon in the Philippine Islands. Fr. Scecina served both the men of his unit and the Filipinos in sacramental duties until the fall of the Islands in 1942. He was taken prisoner in April, and on April 9 began his participation in the infamous Bataan Death March. He was a POW of the Japanese government at two camps: O’Donnell and Cabanatuan. Then he volunteered to work a burial and cemetery detail while also ministering to all the prisoners’ spiritual needs.
In fall 1944, the Japanese prepared to transfer all POW’s to the Philippines mainland to work as slave labor, a practice against the Geneva Convention. Fr. Scecina boarded one of the first ships to move, the Arisan Maru, and endured two weeks of torture before the ship was unknowingly torpedoed by an American submarine. In the final hours, Fr. Scecina heard confessions, gave absolution, and comforted his men as he became one of 1,792 men to die in the worst maritime disaster in United States History.
For his heroism, Fr. Scecina posthumously received the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, and the Bronze Star. In 1952, there was sufficient need and desire for a Catholic coeducational high school on the Eastside of Indianapolis. A plot of land at 5000 Nowland was purchased in conjunction with a successful 1 million dollar fund drive, and on August 21, 1952, ground was broken, with the cornerstone being laid on December 21, 1952. On September 21, 1953, regular classes began for 128 freshman girls and 127 freshman boys under Fr. Harry Hoover, who as founding principal had overseen the construction of the school.
The dedication of the school to Father Thomas Scecina, the only archdiocesan priest to give his life for his country in World War II, took place on October 18, 1953. The first graduating class of 219 students graduated in June 1957, and within a decade, SMHS grew to a school of 1400 students.
After Father Hoover retired in 1969, Father Joseph McGinley succeeded him. Mr. William Kuntz was assigned the post in 1972, and Sister Hortense Fougerousse was principal for the 1973-74 school year. Mr. Raymond Riley was appointed principal in 1974 and held the position until June of 1986, when Mr. Larry Neidlinger took the reins. Mr. Neidlinger retired in 1995, a few months short of his death, and Mr. Stephen Papesh became principal from 1995-2000. During the 1999-2000 school year, SMHS hired Mr. Keith Marsh as its first President. The school’s second President, Dr. Kevin Caspersen, took over the reins in July 2004. Mrs. Maribeth Ransel became President in February of 2007. Mr. Rick J. Ruhl joined the SMHS family as principal during the 2000-2001 school year. In July of 2005 Mr. Tom Davis became principal.
In August 2003, SMHS proudly opened its doors for its 50th anniversary year. SMHS is the first archdiocesan high school in Indianapolis to reach this historic milestone. In October 2003, many of the Franciscan Sisters who first staffed the school, along with other former teachers, administrators, and alumni were invited to a very special all-school Mass. Nearly 80 of Father Thomas Scecina’s surviving relatives attended that Mass and held a family reunion on the SMHS campus. Throughout its first 50 years, SMHS has continued its tradition “to give that little extra”. With great gratitude and reverence for its past, SMHS looks forward to another 50 years of changing lives in its crucial ministry of educating spirit, mind, and body.
[edit] Father Thomas Scecina
The namesake of the first diocesan Roman Catholic high school in Indianapolis was born in Vicksburg, Indiana, on September 16, 1910. He graduated from St. Meinrad Seminary in 1935 and enlisted in the Army Chaplain's Reserve Corps on 5 October 1939. Father Scecina had previously been posted at Holy Trinity and St. John's parishes in Indianapolis.
Taken prisoner by Japanese military forces in April 1942, Scecina was forced to participate in the Bataan Death March and was interned as a prisoner of war at O'Donnell and Cabanatuan camps. In fall 1944, the Japanese made preparations to transfer all prisoners of war to mainland Japan against the Geneva War Convention. Scecina was placed on the Arisan Maru and went through two weeks of torture before the transport was torpedoed by an American submarine. All 1,792 military prisoners aboard were killed, including Father Scecina, who had volunteered to be transported to continue to provide the Word of God to his men.
Subsequently, for acts of heroism above and beyond the call of duty, Father Thomas Scecina was posthumously awarded many military honors, among them the Silver Star, and the Bronze Star. He was also awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded in service to his country.
