Father Patrick Carrion, Pastor of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish in Federal Hill and Mr. John Ciccone, President of St. Ignatius Loyola Academy, have announced that the parish and school have entered into a lease agreement that will allow St. Ignatius to move into the former parish school building in time for the 2013-14 school year.
St. Ignatius is an independently-run tuition-free Catholic school for boys from low-income backgrounds currently located on Baltimore’s Calvert Street in Mount Vernon.
St. Mary, Star of the Sea School was begun in 1877. The school moved into the current building, located at Battery Avenue and Gittings Street, in 1914. Staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph, the school continued to operate, though it changed its name to the Catholic Community School, until closing in 2009.
“The reason the building was originally built was to further the Catholic mission,” Father Carrion said. “This mission is now able to continue, and the parish and neighborhood are excited about the Academy becoming part of the Catholic Community of South Baltimore.”
A welcome celebration will take place at the school on November 10 at 7 p.m.