St. Mary's Academy (New Orleans)
St. Mary's Academy is a private Catholic K-12 school in New Orleans, Louisiana run by the Sisters of the Holy Family. Founded in 1867, it is one of the oldest Black Catholic schools in the country It admits girls and boys until grade 7, and admits only girls for grades 8-12. The academy has a long tradition as a private Catholic college preparatory co-educational elementary and a middle/high school for young women. History. The school was founded in 1867 by the Sisters of the Holy Family, the second Black Catholic  religious order in the United States, as a place where Black children could be educated during segregation. The founder, Venerable Henriette DeLille, was a Creole of color who has since become venerated within the Church. The school has undergone two moves in its history, having started closer to the heart of the city (in the French Quarter). It moved within the neighborhood shortly thereafter, and finally came to its present location in New Orleans East in 1965.