Salesianum School

Salesianum School is a Roman Catholic independent school for boys, located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is run independently within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and is operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The current enrollment is just about 1,000 students, from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Salesianum has established a close connection with Lycée Saint Michel, another Oblate high school, located in Annecy, France. Salesianum was named one of the Top 50 Catholic High Schools in America by the Catholic Honor Roll in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Campus

The 22-acre (89,000 m²) campus is home to the school itself as well as a gymnasium. In addition to the campus, the athletic program also makes use of Wilmington's Baynard Stadium located directly across from the school.

Athletics

Salesianum School has won 148 Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) approved boy's state championships, winning its first state championship in basketball in 2014.^[9]

Salesianum's historical rival is St. Mark's High School, which is located in suburban Wilmington. Their fall meeting in football is commonly referred to as "The Holy War".^[10][11]

The soccer team won 11 state championships between 2002 and 2014, and in 2013 defeated Saint Benedict's Preparatory School, the national number one ranked high school program in the United States and finished the season ranked as the number two high school team in the country.^[12][13]

The cross country team has won 37 of the 42 DIAA state boy championships, losing the championship only five years between 1972 and 2013.^[14]

The Salesianum swimming team has won ten consecutive state boys championships between 2005 and 2015.^[15]

Original Location - 8th & West Sts

Front entrance

History

Salesianum (Latin for "House of Sales", referring to St. Francis de Sales) was founded in 1903 and was located at 8th and West Streets until the move to its current location in 1957. In 1950, Rev. Thomas Lawless, OSFS, a 1908 graduate of Salesianum, admitted five African American students, four years prior to the Brown v. Board of Education decision which made it mandatory; thus making Salesianum the first racially integrated school in the state of Delaware, and recently was recognized for this with a historical marker.^[16]

In August 2012 the Wilmington/Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales published a letter stating that "Since 2004, the Wilmington/Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales has been named in lawsuits in the Superior Court of Delaware filed by 40 plaintiffs, each of which contained allegations of sexual abuse of a minor." The letter named 12 oblates who had been involved and expressed regrets, stating that "The abuse of children by priests and other clergy is shocking, reprehensible, and devastating to all whose trust has been shattered by their selfish deeds."^[17] This followed a settlement in August 2011 of 39 lawsuits against the school and the order, with the order and its insurers paying $24.8 million to be shared between the plaintiffs.^[18]

Notable alumni

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salesianum.

External links

• Official website
• Official athletics site

Diocese of Wilmington Bishops Thomas Albert Andrew Becker Alfred Allen Paul Curtis John James Joseph Monaghan Edmond John Fitzmaurice Michael William Hyle Thomas Mardaga Robert Edward Mulvee Michael Angelo Saltarelli William Francis Malooly Churches Cathedral Cathedral of St. Peter Parishes St. Joseph's Church, Greenville, DE St. John the Baptist Church, Newark, DE St. Joseph's Church, Middletown, DE St. Peter's Church, Queenstown, MD St. Francis Xavier Church, Warwick, MD Resurrection Church, Wilmington, DE St. Anthony's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Catherine of Siena Church, Wilmington, DE St. Hedwig's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Joseph's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church, Wilmington, DE St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Wilmington, DE Education High Schools Archmere Academy, Claymont, DE Padua Academy, Wilmington, DE Saints Peter and Paul High School, Easton, MD St. Elizabeth High School, Wilmington, DE St. Mark's High School, Wilmington, DE St. Thomas More Preparatory, Magnolia, DE Salesianum School, Wilmington, DE Ursuline Academy, Wilmington, DE Former College St. Mary's College Priests John Barres Benjamin Joseph Keiley Catholicism Portal