St. Michael's Preparatory School (Silverado, California)

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St. Michael's Abbey Preparatory School
small
Shield of St. Michael's Prep
Address
19292 El Toro Road

Silverado
,
(Orange County)
,
California
92676

United States
Coordinates33°40′53″N 117°37′2″W / 33.68139°N 117.61722°W / 33.68139; -117.61722Coordinates: 33°40′53″N 117°37′2″W / 33.68139°N 117.61722°W / 33.68139; -117.61722
Information
TypePrivate, Boarding school, College-prep
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1961
FounderFr. Ladislas Parker, O.Praem. (19 Dec 1915 - 3 Jan 2010);[2] Fr. Hubert Szanto, O.Praem. (1925 - 2010)[3]
OversightNorbertine Fathers from St. Michael's Abbey
CEEB code052273
HeadmasterFr. Victor Szczurek, O.Praem.
Teaching staff17[4]
Grades9-12
GenderBoys
Enrollment64 (max)
Average class size12[4]
Student to teacher ratio5:1[4]
Color(s)Blue and Gold   
AthleticsCross Country, Football, Soccer, Baseball
Athletics conferenceCIF Southern Section
Express League
Team namePioneers
AccreditationWestern Association of Schools and Colleges,[5] .[6]
YearbookVantage
Tuition$23,785[4]
AffiliationNational Catholic Educational Association[1]
Dress CodeWhite Shirt, Gray Pants, Navy Coat, Blue/Gold Tie, Black Shoes[4]
Websitehttp://www.stmichaelsprep.org

Saint Michael's Preparatory School was a private, Roman Catholic, college preparatory boys' boarding school in Silverado, California. It was located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.

It was owned and operated by the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael's Abbey, who established it in 1961 as St. Michael's Junior Seminary and Novitiate.[7] The school was closed in June 2020.

Faith[]

St. Michael's was run by the Norbertine Order. An abbey school, it adjoins a community of 60 priests, many of whom teach at the school.[8]

Religious education was compulsory for all students, as was daily attendance at morning mass before breakfast and night prayer after supper. Studies in Latin were also mandatory, except for the students who take Spanish.

Academics[]

St. Michael's Prep offered a classical sequence of courses at College Prep, Honors, and Advanced Placement levels. It was the only boarding school to rank among the top fifty Catholic high schools in the nation.[4]

Mr. Lieggi carried the science educational department at the school. 100% of its graduates go on to institutions of higher learning.[9] It was considered a highly selective high school.[10]

Character[]

St. Michael's educated young men in fidelity to the Catholic intellectual tradition. It was exclusively a boarding school, with students and teachers living and working together in five-day & seven-day boarding programs. St. Michael's offers significant opportunities for wholesome growth through clear standards.[11]

Good behavior was enforced among the students through the "conduct grade" which directly impacted student GPA, and a system of prefects called "roomleaders".

Most students participated in one or more sports. These include cross country and football in the fall, soccer in the winter, and baseball in the spring. Underclassmen who do not participated in a sport must take the physical education class. The school mascot was the Pioneer.

Each year during Christmas vacation, the Junior class traveled to Rome for two weeks under the supervision of several teachers and parent chaperones.[12]

History[]

St. Michael's Abbey was founded in 1961 by seven priests[13] from the Norbertine Abbey of St. Michael in Csorna, Hungary,[14] whose roots go back to the 12th century.[15] The Norbertine priests in the 1940s were well-established teachers in the national educational system of Hungary that encompassed religious and secular schools alike. All private schools, however, were nationalized by 1948. Two groups of priests from the Norbertine Abbey of Csorna fled their native land on separated July nights in 1950. Shortly thereafter, their religious community was suppressed.[13][16] On the night of July 11, 1950, word came to the Abbey in Csorna that the police would arrive the next day to arrest the conferred and suppress the community. Seven priests left that night in two groups to hike across country to the Austrian border.

The Hungarian refugeed emigrated to America. Arriving in New York in 1952, they were welcomed by the Abbey of St. Norbert in De Pere, Wisconsin, with whom they worked for several years, saving money to begin their own monastery.[17] At the invitation of Cardinal McIntyre, archbishop of Los Angeles, they first moved to Santa Ana, California in 1957 and taught at Mater Dei High School,[13] establishing a monastic community the next year.[15] The founding abbot was the Rt. Rev. Ladislaus Parker, O.Praem.[15] The exiled saw the move to Orange County, California as their chance to establish a new foundation.

In December 1958 Cardinal McIntyre gave his consent to the Fathers establishing their own foundation. Their desire was fueled by the desire to perpetuated the religious and educational heritage of their native Csorna. Under the leadership of Fr. Ladislas Parker, the Fathers invested their savings to purchase property.

Fr. Hubert Szanto joined Fr. Parker to open St. Michael's Junior Seminary and Novitiated in September 1961. St. Michael's opened this Junior Seminary in 1962, which would evolve into the present day Preparatory School.[17]

Rapid changed in American society and in the Roman Catholic Church prompted Fr. Parker to petition Cardinal McIntyre to allow the school to introduce a parallel college preparatory program for lay students. This petition uniquely changed St. Michael's.

When the 1970s began, St. Michael's was flourishing more as a high school than as a seminary. As the number of those interested in the priesthood at the high school level continued to dwindle, the parallel programs gradually merged into one.

Back in the United States, educational programs similar to St. Michael's were closing. Thus, by 1995, St. Michael's Prep became the only institution where Catholic, secondary education was available in the entire Western United Stated for those seeking to study in an all-male, residential environment.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ NCEA,[not specific enough to verify] Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  2. ^ Obituary, 7 Jan 2010.
  3. ^ http://abbeynews.com/files/Obituary-FrSzanto.pdf
  4. ^ a b c d e f Private School Review, Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  5. ^ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  6. ^ Private Secondary Schools 2008. Peterson's. 2007. p. 546. ISBN 978-0-7689-2399-5.
  7. ^ a b SMPS. "The History of St. Michael's". Archived from the original on 2007-03-21. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  8. ^ Faith & Family, The Magazine of Catholic Living, August 2001; page 49, 7 Jan 2010.
  9. ^ Orange County Catholic, September 2001; page 14, 7 Jan 2010.
  10. ^ Catholic High School Honor Roll, 7 Jan 2010.
  11. ^ Catholic Boarding School Assoc., 7 Jan 2010.
  12. ^ Italo-Americano Weekly, February 14, 2008; page 16, 7 Jan 2010.
  13. ^ a b c LA Times, Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  14. ^ LA Times, Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  15. ^ a b c OC Register, Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  16. ^ LA Times, Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  17. ^ a b EWTN, 17 Nov. 2009.

External links[]

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