Catholic Education in Alexandria

Oblate Sisters of Providence: Founded in 1829 by Mother Mary Lange and Father James Hector Joubert, SS, the order was initially founded to serve the educational needs of Haitian refugee children in Baltimore, Maryland. They were the first successful Catholic women’s religious order established by women of African descent. Saint Francis Academy in Baltimore was founded by the sisters and is one of the oldest schools for Black Catholic children still operating today. In 1916 the sisters came to Alexandria to help staff the newly opened Saint Joseph School. The Oblate Sisters of Providence currently operate in Baltimore, Miami, Buffalo, and Costa Rica.

Xaverian Brothers: Founded by Theodore James Ryken in Belgium in 1839, the Xaverian Brothers are missionaries focused on evangelization and education. The brothers came to the United States in 1854 at the request of the Bishop of Louisville to open a school in the diocese. They opened Saint Xavier High School and by 1864 they were teaching at several other parochial schools. The center of Xaverian activities was moved to Baltimore in 1864. The brothers were invited to Alexandria to open the Xaverian Brothers’ school for boys in 1919, which operated until 1934. The Xaverian Brothers currently operate schools in the United States and all around the world, including Kenya, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Belgium, and the UK.

Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart: Founded by Mother Demetrias in Baltimore in 1890, the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart served as educators to the growing Black Catholic community of Baltimore. The order grew from teaching Sunday School in a church basement to being educators across the United States. The sisters helped teach religion at Saint Mary in Alexandria from 1943 to 1968. They also engaged in parish census work and visited the homes of non-Catholics as an opportunity for them to learn about the faith. The Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart continue to work in schools, parishes, and hospitals across the United States and participate in mission work in Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

The Society of Jesus: Founded in 1540 by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, along with Saints Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, the Jesuits were dedicated to evangelization and education. They played a large role in the counterreformation, and from the earliest days of their founding they worked to establish missions across the world, including in Japan and the Americas. As their missions grew and became more established, much of the Jesuits’ work turned toward education. They opened schools across the world, including the first Catholic college in the United States, Georgetown University in Washington, DC, in 1789. The order was briefly suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773, but Pope Pius VII restored the order in 1814. Jesuits served as pastors and educators at Saint Mary in Alexandria from its beginning in 1795 to the 1890s. The Jesuits currently operate as missionaries and educators across the world. Pope Francis was the first Jesuit to be elected pope.

Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross: Founded by Father Basil Anthony Moreau in 1841 in Le Mans, France, the first sisters from the order to come to the United States arrived in Indiana in 1843 to help establish the University of Notre Dame. They attended to the needs of settlers and Native Americans and began to establish schools across the country. Many sisters became nurses during the Civil War, attending to the wounded on both sides. The Holy Cross sisters were invited to Alexandria in 1869. They taught at multiple schools such as Saint Mary’s Academy and what is now the Basilica School of Saint Mary until the early 2000s. Today the Sisters of the Holy Cross serve as educators, nurses, and social workers across the United States and abroad, including in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Peru.

Sisters of Charity: The Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph were founded by Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1809, becoming the first women’s religious order founded in the United States. The order adopted the rules of the Daughters of Charity, a religious order in France founded by Saint Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, and were officially integrated with them in 1850. The order established orphanages and Catholic schools throughout the country. The Sisters of Charity were teachers at the Basilica of Saint Mary’s first parish schools in the 1830s. The Sisters currently serve as educators and healthcare workers throughout the world.

Other religious orders who have contributed to Catholic life in Alexandria include the Order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who directed spiritual development and social services programs in the late 1970s, and the Daughters of Saint Paul, who have operated the Pauline bookstore since the 1980s. Priests of the Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart serve the parish community of Saint Joseph Church on Columbus and Wythe Streets.