St. Cecilia Academy 150th Anniversary 1860 - 2010
WWhile the Dominican Order was founded in the thirteenth century, the Congregation of St. Cecilia began in 1860 at the invitation of Nashville’s second bishop, the Right Reverend James Whelan. The bishop, a Dominican himself, wanted sisters to "conduct an academy for higher education of girls and young ladies" with an emphasis on music and the fine arts. He petitioned the sisters at St. Mary’s, Somerset, Ohio to send four sisters to begin the work. Catholics in Tennessee were neither numerous nor wealthy, but such a school was thought necessary to help spread the faith. The bishop wished deep religious instruction to go on along with the studies and accomplishments which Southerners loved so well and earnestly sought for their daughters.
On the morning of the feast of the Assumption, 1860, the four religious destined for the Nashville foundation — Sisters Columba Dittoe, Lucy Harper, Philomena McDonough, and Francis Walsh — turned their faces southward. They journeyed by railroad to Cincinnati, then to Louisville by boat, and reached Nashville on the third day. Received by Mrs. Charles Sanders, the pioneer Dominicans waited at the old City Hospital of Nashville, as guests of the Sisters of Nazareth, until the new quarters were ready.
In a few days they were pleasantly settled in three wooden buildings, and on the 25th of September they were ready for the approaching opening day which had been set for Oct. 4. At first all the pupils of this new institution were drawn from local families. Then came students who lived a distance from the Academy, until the three buildings reached capacity. An appeal to St. Mary's for more Sisters to teach was promptly met by the dispatch of Sisters Cecilia Dittoe and Aloysius Crossen. The school grew in popularity; its doors were opened to pupils of every religious denomination, and all lived together in delightful harmony.
The girls were zealous in frequenting the sacraments, faithful in attending Mass and thankful for the gift of faith which afforded them channels of grace to meet and bear life’s tribulations. This would prove immensely helpful in the years to come as tensions in the country grew leading up to the Civil War.
In the autumn of 1861, while the hopes of the South ran high, work on these buildings began. Throughout the period of the Civil War the progress of St. Cecilia's was quite as brilliant as had been the promise of its first beginnings. It was then that Father Ryan, the poet-priest of the South, was a frequent visitor at the school, where he was a favorite among its enthusiastic Southern pupils.
Bishop Whelan left Nashville and returned to his priory in Kentucky and the community turned its attention to the financial difficulties they faced. The debt which had been accumulating could easily have been liquidated had the first promise of prosperity been realized, but the case now seemed hopeless. By a decree of the Court of Chancery the land on which St. Cecilia's stood, with all the improvements, was sold in August, 1866. The purchaser was the Right Rev. P. A. Feehan, the successor to Bishop Whelan.
At the time, the Sisters were advised to abandon Nashville and recommence their work elsewhere. Legally, their debts were satisfied by the sale of their property, but conscience demanded a payment in full. But through prayer, the sisters found the strength to stay and continue operating the school. Again, the number of pupils gradually increased, and in less than 10 years every creditor was fully satisfied. Thenceforward the community grew in numbers and in prosperity.
A novitiate was opened; a new school was opened in East Nashville by teachers from St. Cecilia's Community. More additional buildings were decided upon. These buildings followed the original plan.
From about 1887 began the period of expansion during which the congregation sent forth its members to establish schools away from Nashville. In 1899, property was purchased for the congregation in Memphis, and an institute opened there. In 1903 Sisters were detailed to take charge of other schools in the neighborhood of Nashville.
The fifty-second anniversary of St. Cecilia's found the community of the Motherhouse occupying a building furnished with every modern educational appliance, including a special music room, practice rooms and two studios. The congregation then numbered over 100 Sisters, teaching 1,525 pupils and caring for about 150 orphans at St. Mary's Orphanage (now St. Mary's Villa).
From 1860 until 1957, the Academy was in the same building as the Congregation’s Motherhouse. Today, in addition to St. Cecilia Academy, the Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation teach in 33 schools in 14 states and in Australia.
Copy compiled from
The Catholic church in the United States of America The Catholic editing company, New York (December 10, 1913) and
History of the School and the Heritage of Each Student as a St. Cecilia Girl by Mother Marie William (Feb. 27, 1969)