Sacred Heart High School (Hattiesburg, Mississippi)
Sacred Heart High School is a Roman Catholicparochial school in the historic district of downtown Hattiesburg, Mississippi where it is mostly surrounded by Victorian-era homes and other churches. It is the only High School in the Northern Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi. Sacred Heart Catholic High School was officially detached from the elementary school on June 8, 2010 when the Hattiesburg City Council voted to accept a bid of $2.5 million for the city-owned property formerly known as First Baptist Church. The acquisition has ultimately added 40 classrooms to the school. Since the acquisition of the new building, the student population has expanded from just over 500 to over 700 students.
Background
Sacred Heart was founded in 1900 by the Sisters of Mercy. Sacred Heart Catholic School is one of the oldest existing schools in Hattiesburg. In October, 1900, Father Sylvester Greimel opened Sacred Heart Catholic School, the first Catholic school in the area, using the sacristy of the church and the rectory for classes. He was the first resident pastor at Sacred Heart Church. His sister, Miss Anne Greimel, was principal. Thirty-five students were enrolled. The Sisters of Mercy arrived in September 1902. A convent and school had been built for them on Walnut Street, next to the church. In 1908, the first class of seniors graduated from the school. The current Sacred Heart Church was built in 1927 and 1928. The current elementary building was built in 1951 and the convent which is now used for administrative offices and art room was built in 1959. The Class of 1966 were the last to graduate from Sacred Heart when the high school closed due to low enrollment. Until 2004, Sacred Heart only offered classes through the 8th grade. In 2004 Sacred Heart Catholic School was granted permission by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi to reopen its high school by adding the 9th and 10th grades. In 2005, the 11th grade was added and in 2006 the 12th grade was added. The Class of 2007 was the first class of seniors to graduated from Sacred Heart in 41 years. This small class of 9 students paved the way for many more to come through the high school. The 2007-2008 school year saw many changes to the campus of Sacred Heart. A $4 million expansion and renovation to the campus brought 15 new classrooms, new chemistry lab, high school library and computer lab, as well as a new cafeteria designed by Albert and Associates Architects. Finlo Construction build the cafeteria and renovated the elementary building. Groundbreaking for Sacred Heart Catholic School's new sports complex occurred in 2014. On August 15, 2016 the sports complex was completed and hosted the first football game of the 2016 season. The complex consists of a football field, soccer field, baseball field, softball field, and a track.
