Montreal, Canada, Jun 3, 2004 / 22:00 pm
One of North America’s oldest Catholic high schools has launched its 150th anniversary celebrations.
Villa Maria High School, located just west of downtown Montreal, was founded by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame in 1854.
The school has grown tremendously since its founding. The first graduating class in 1860 had three students and there were about 50 students in the whole school. Villa Maria was run entirely by the CND sisters as a boarding school and all students studied in both English and French.
In 1975, Villa Maria became “an independent school” with a board of directors, and the sisters’ presence in the school slowly decreased over time. Currently, the only CND on staff is Sr. Arlita Matte, the directress general.