How it all began…
In 1877 Fr. George Ziegler put out a desperate appeal for Sisters to instruct the youth of St. Francis parish in Traverse City, Michigan. Six Sisters traveled from New York City by steamer on October 25, 1877 and opened a school for six pupils the following Monday, October 29, 1877. By Christmas, the enrollment had increased to fifty pupils.
Holy Angels Academy
 Holy Angels Academy was built on six lots and consisted of four floors including the basement, the convent and boarding school and was dedicated by Bishop Henry Richter of Grand Rapids in September 1883. The building served as a school until 1893 and as a convent until 1971 when the nuns moved into an adjacent addition. The building was razed in the summer of 1972. The Sisters still fondly refer to the old convent as “the Cradle” since it was where the Marywood Dominican Sisters originated.
Immaculate Conception Church and School
In April 1902 a new parish was organized on the west side of Traverse City due to growth, the distance for the elderly to attend daily Mass and for the children to walk to school. The parish was to be named in honor of the Immaculate Conception. Bishop Henry J. Richter dedicated the new church on February 22, 1906.
The upper floor of the building was the church and the lower floor was the school. The school opened in September 1906 with 80 students in three classrooms. The fourth room was used for assemblies.
St. Francis Elementary School
St. Francis Elementary School (the current building holding Holy Angels Elementary School) was ready for students in January 1955. The new school opened with 14 classrooms and a study hall.
A new gym and cafeteria were built connected to the new elementary school. The gym officially opened November 26, 1954, when the St. Francis High School basketball team played against St. Mary of Lake Leelanau High School team. More than 2000 people watched the Gladiators defeat St. Mary 41 to 33. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School
Ground was broken for the $5 million St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School on May 29, 1997 with the first day of school being September 1, 1998. The newly built school consisted of 11 classrooms, two science lab classrooms, band room, art room, computer lab and cafeteria-auditorium. The building has the capacity for 325 students in grades 6th -8th grade. When St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School was constructed, Immaculate Conception Middle School became Immaculate Conception Elementary School with 3rd – 5th grades. St. Francis School remained a lower elementary school. A new name was chosen by a committee and approved by the pastors and the GTACS Advisory Board. The name Holy Angels Elementary School appropriately refers back to the humble beginnings of Catholic education in Traverse City in 1877. Today, St. Francis School refers to the high school for grades 9th-12th grade.
The information on these pages was taken, in part, from the book Faith & Knowledge – the History of the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools. To purchase your own souvenir copy, please contact the Development Office of the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools at (231) 946-8147 or email lschel@gtacs.org |
