Orange County’s oldest Catholic school — and its only Catholic military school — recently celebrated its 135th anniversary with a look back at its past and a prayer for its future.
ST. CATHERINE’S ACADEMY IN ANAHEIM CELEBRATED A SPECIAL MASS ON MARCH 19 FOLLOWED BY A CEREMONIAL CAKE CUTTING TO MARK 135 YEARS. PHOTOS BY DREW KELLEY/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
St. Catherine’s Academy in Anaheim hosted a ceremonial Mass on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, with students, alumni and parents, followed by a BBQ lunch and ceremonial cake cutting. St. Catherine’s is a TK through eighth-grade day school and boarding school for boys in the Dominican charism.
“I love today,” said the school’s principal, Bridget Ronan. “It’s a special, special day. I think it’s just a reminder of how significant this school is, how it’s been through so many changes and times and the boys who have come before and the boys who are here now.”
ST. CATHERINE’S ACADEMY IS ORANGE COUNTY’S OLDEST CATHOLIC SCHOOL AND ITS ONLY CATHOLIC MILITARY SCHOOL.
The school was founded by Mother Maria Pia Backes, O.P., foundress of the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, in 1889. She bought a 3-acre tract of land on Palm Street, which is now Harbor Boulevard, and constructed a three-story red brick building. The campus started with two classrooms and accommodations for the sisters and student boarders.
“We have a lot to celebrate,” said St. Catherine’s Academy president, Sr. Johnellen, to her students. “A lot of history has preceded you.”
St. Catherine’s Academy is just the school’s latest iteration. In 1899, it was founded as a boys day school and girls boarding school. Five years later, it became an orphanage for boys, who numbered 200 by 1903.
It was during that time that St. Catherine’s almost closed due to financial troubles. Mother Pia was on her way to sign papers to sell the academy when her carriage was swarmed by bees, said Fr. Edward Poettgen, a priest at neighboring St. Boniface parish.
“Bees are “a sign of God’s divine life, rejuvenation, a beginning again, and it seems that that’s when bees became a sign for Mother Pia — a sign of good fortune,” Fr. Edward said. “So that’s where she turned the carriage around and continued the commitment here to provide a place of education, which has come in different forms to this form we celebrate here.”
In 1916, the school changed to an all-boys day and boarding school with military traditions that continue today. The campus now boasts 8 acres, three classroom buildings, four dormitories, an indoor gym and pool, an obstacle course and the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel.
That tradition seamlessly integrates with Catholic teachings, said Ronan. The boys, in third grade and up, are part of a battalion divided into four companies: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta.
“I think that the values of the military, specifically the Marine Corps and what they uphold, intertwine so beautifully with the Catholic faith and service to others: commitment, duty, honor and respect,” Ronan said. “It works.”
He added: “When we try to teach the boys a lesson on taking care of others, then the Marines can tie in real-life examples of what that means.”
The students have daily military training where they work on drills, survival skills and navigating, said Major Jacob Talactac, age 13, the academy’s battalion commander. The different companies are tight-knit and work together to earn points toward different privileges, but the whole school is family, he said.
“There’s so much brotherhood here,” continued Talactac. “You can really feel that you can count on everybody else.”
The eighth grader has been at St. Catherine’s for nine years.
“You can walk up to any of your bigger brothers, and they can guide you in whatever you need to do, whether that be tying your shoes or some advice on your mental health,” Talactac said.
Alumnus Michael Thomas said he has fond memories of his four years as a boarding student. A graduate in 1969, Thomas remembered the crew cuts, serving as a bugler in the band and shooting .22 rifles on the range. It was like getting to hang out at your friend’s house 24-7, he said.
Although a common trope is threatening children with military school when they misbehave, Thomas said St. Catherine’s wasn’t like that.
“It instilled in me character attributes that have helped me through life,” he said. “It was definitely a positive experience.”
Jacob Talactac’s father, Frederick Talactac, also said the discipline of the military aspect was a net positive. A class of 1985 alumnus who attended from sixth to eighth grade, the senior Talactac said he loved the camaraderie, brotherhood and discipline, all of which help students deal with the confusion and distraction secular life can throw at them.
“As a father, especially to a son and especially in society these days,” he said, “they need discipline in the sense that they just need guidelines, and they don’t need a lot of distractions. This is where we really get to focus on faith and leadership, and that’s what I really wanted for him. I think for every cadet, every boy here, it turns them into men.”