| St. Anne Catholic Boys’ Academy opened on November 1, 1855 at the request of Rev. Chiniquy, who was pastor of St. Anne’s Parish. Students came from Kankakee, Bourbonnais, L’Erable, and Manteno to attend the school, and were at 150 students within a year.
St. Anne’s closed as a Catholic school in 1856 when the Christian Brothers were recalled to Montreal by their order, due to the excommunication of Chiniquy by Bishop Anthony O’Regan of Chicago. However, the school remained open under Chiniquy until 1881 when he became a Presbyterian minister and by that time, a overwhelming number of his parishoners converted to the same religion.
Today, high school students in St. Anne attend either the hometown St. Anne High School (a public institution) or go to Kankakee at McNamara High School, a Catholic high school named after the first Bishop of Joliet, Martin McNamara. |
