ST. ANGELA ACADEMY IN AIKEN, SC
SISTERS OF CHARITY OF OUR LADY OF MERCY

On August 27, 1906, the Most Reverend Henry P. Northrop, Bishop of Charleston, asked the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy to take charge of St. Angela Academy in Aiken. The school for girls, then located at Richland and Pendleton Streets, was begun by the Ursuline Sisters in 1900 and named for St. Angela, patroness of the Ursuline Community. The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy accepted the Bishop's invitation, assumed the debt on the property, and began to operate a boarding school for young ladies, grades K-12, with an enrollment of about 100 students. Boys were accepted for the lower grades. The first group of OLMs consisted of Sister M. Cecilia Lynch, Sister Gabriel Wyndham, Sister Rosalie Meyer, Sister Colette Kelly, and Sister Annunciata Hogan. They were soon joined by Sister M. Celestine Quale who served as Principal of St. Angela from 1907 until her death in 1915.

In 1912 the Sisters moved the Academy to the Magnolia Inn on York and Richland Streets, once the home of Mae Busch, wife of the Honorable James Byrnes, former Secretary of State under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and later Governor of South Carolina. The former Inn became the convent and student residence. Classes were held in a frame building adjoining the main house. In September 1938 the Sisters replaced the structure with a modern red brick classroom building. Bernard Baruch, a close friend of the Honorable James Byrnes, made a substantial contribution which helped the religious congregation to pay for the construction of the new facility.

From 1912 until 1950 the parishioners of St. Mary Help of Christians came to the convent chapel for daily Mass and Sunday evening devotions. Sunday Mass was celebrated in the parish church where the Sisters directed the choir, served as sacristans and taught CCD classes. Children for the Aiken missions were bused to St. Angela Academy for religious instruction during the 1920s and 1930s. The Sisters also gave instructions in Williston, Langley, Edgefield, Greenwood, Joanna and Newberry. During the 1940s and 1950s the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women held their annual retreats at St. Angela Convent while the students were on summer vacation.

The opening of the Savannah River Plant brought a dramatic increase in the Catholic Population in and around Aiken necessitating the development of a parish school for St. Mary Help of Christians. In 1952, the Most Reverend John J. Russell, Bishop of Charleston, asked the Sisters to sell the red brick building on York Street to St. Mary's Parish. The Sisters who had purchased the Elbert Estate on Berrie Road the previous year and were using the Georgian-styled building for their convent and boarding school, assented to the Bishop's request and agreed to maintain the York Street school until June, 1955.

The Sisters, in turn, in 1953 built a new four year high school on the Berrie Road property. The boarding department was discontinued in the mid-seventies. However, St. Angela Academy continued as a four year co-ed high school accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools until its closure in 1988.

When the Dominican Sisters from Adrian, Michigan, who took charge of St. Mary's School in 1955, informed Msgr. Smith of their desire to withdraw at the end of the academic year 1970, he asked the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy to resume administrative and staffing responsibilities. In 1974, under the leadership of Sister M. Rosemary Boyd, OLM, St. Mary's was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy continued to serve St. Mary Help of Christians until June, 1997.

Text provided by Sister Anne Francis Campbell, OLM, General Superior: October 21, 1998

Sister Alice Joseph Brady, in Washington (1999), taught at St. Angela during the 1960s and served as Principal in the late 1970s.

Sister Stella Maris Craven, St. Angela graduate, is Principal at Christ Our King/Stella Maris School (1999), and currently is a member of the General Council of the Community.

Sister Veronica Janas, Principal, St. Mary's in Greenville SC (1999), was Principal at St. Angela in 1987 and 1988. Sister is currently a Member of the General Council of the Congregation.

Sister Cyril Murray, Senior Ministry, Christ Our King Parish, Mt. Pleasant SC (1999), was Principal at St. Angela during the 1980s. Sister is currently a Member of the General Council of the Congregation.

Sister Carol Wentworth, Our Lady of Mercy Outreach Services (1999), taught at St. Angela in the early 1980s, and coached the girls' volleyball and basketball teams.

Sister Donna Lareau, Ministry of Spiritual Direction, at the Motherhouse in Charleston (1999), taught at St. Angela in the early 1980s.

Sister Mary Thomas, Treasurer and Member of the General Council, at the Motherhouse in Charleston (1999), taught at St. Angela in the 1970s and 1980s.

Sister Mary Joseph Ritter, Director of Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach Services (Johns Island), with some of the children with whom she works (1999), taught at St. Angela in 1980.

After a wonderful lunch, the Sisters of St. Angela Academy gathered for a Kodak moment. From the left:

Sister Marcella, Director of OLM Associates,
Sister Miriam (seated), Ministry of Prayer,
Sister Roberta (standing), Motherhouse Staff,
Sister Clement, Motherhouse Staff,
Sister Rosemary, OLM Outreach (Johns Island),
Sister Maureen (standing), Motherhouse Staff and OLM Outreach,
Sister De Neri, Ministry of Prayer and Motherhouse Assistant.



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