St. Joseph’s Academy

In 1861, three Benedictine sisters from Erie, Pennsylvania (originally from Eichstatt, Germany) answered a call to come to Chicago to educate children of German immigrants in Chicago’s St. Joseph's Parish School. These three sisters were eventually joined by Benedictine sisters from St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania. In 1865, they opened the Academy (named St. Joseph’s Academy) that served as a convent and a school with space for residential students.