History

Fr. Thomas Griffin and four Dominican Sisters of Newburgh, New York, open the doors of the Pulaski-Cowper Mansion to students of the new Sacred Heart Academy. Approximately 50 first through ninth-grade students attended school on the lower level. The upper level served as a convent and dormitory.

Sacred Heart Academy graduated its first class, containing three students. 

A new granite school was built on the site of the Pulaski-Cowper Mansion.

High school-age students living and learning at Nazareth Orphanage were transferred to Cathedral Latin.

Bishop Vincent S. Waters decreed that all discrimination in Catholic parishes, programs, and institutions should cease.

Groundbreaking a gymnasium on the grounds of Nazareth Orphanage on Western Blvd. The building was a joint project between three Catholic parishes in Raleigh (Sacred Heart, St. Monica, and Our Lady of Lourdes).

Cathedral Latin High School reopens as a dedicated high school with a new building on Western Blvd intended to accommodate 250 students in grades 9-12. 

The Dominican Sisters, who helped Gibbons thrive in the 1960s, can no longer serve the school as educators, as the order’s mission changes from education to mission and social justice.

The school reopened in September, under the leadership of Principal Sister Mary Teresita, and the Sisters of Notre Dame, welcoming 92 students.

Parental support and involvement were at record levels as Catholic parents who had migrated to Raleigh from New York and the Midwest sought high-quality education for their children, based around a Catholic identity; many parents volunteered to improve the school and make needed repairs on the weekends.

Now a college prep school, Gibbons pursued new ways to offer rigorous academic experiences to prepare students for future success.

Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn were brought on board after many years of tumultuous leadership and constantly changing principal.

The Gibbons student body swells to 760.

Franciscan Brothers end their administrative leadership.

Jason Curtis becomes principal.

Gibbons undergoes massive building expansion.

Jeff Bell joins as Head of School.