Our History

1898 - 1848

In 1898, Fr. P. J. Fisher, founding pastor of St. Joseph Parish, invited the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary to educate children in the Pomona area. That same year, on Thursday, September 15, 1898, the Academy of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary officially opened for student enrollment.

The original Academy was built on the corner of Holt and White Avenue, surrounded by orange groves. Six Sisters from the Mother House in Oakland arrived to staff the school. The Academy served as a boarding school for girls, offering instruction from kindergarten through senior year, with a small number of young boys also boarding. The curriculum spanned primary, grammar, and academic grades, covering first through tenth grades.

The Academy faithfully served the Pomona community for decades. In 1927, a devastating fire destroyed much of the original building. During reconstruction, students and teachers were temporarily relocated to the Elks Club. The current school building was completed and opened in 1928, allowing the Academy to resume operations on campus.

During World War II, the Sisters of the Holy Names experienced a shortage of personnel and were unable to staff all five of their schools. As a result, the Academy’s final high school graduating class was in 1943. Soon after, the Sisters made the difficult decision to withdraw from Pomona, bringing an end to nearly fifty years of service. The Academy of the Holy Names officially served the community from 1898 to 1948.

Following World War II, Msgr. Thomas P. English, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, recognized the urgent need for a coeducational Catholic high school to serve the rapidly growing Pomona Valley. Although the Sisters of the Holy Names shared this vision, they did not have sufficient personnel to open such a school. Msgr. English arranged for the purchase of the Academy property for use as a high school and turned to the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice, known as the Felician Sisters, based in Chicago.

In 1948, the Felician Sisters arrived in Pomona and assumed leadership of the newly established St. Joseph High School, as well as St. Joseph Elementary School. One year later, they also took responsibility for Sacred Heart School. Priests from St. Joseph Parish provided religious instruction and ministered to the spiritual needs of students attending what would become Pomona Catholic.

Since their arrival in 1948, the Felician Sisters have served continuously as teachers, staff members, and principals at Pomona Catholic. Initially, they lived in the south and west wings of the second floor of the school before later moving to the convent at St. Joseph Parish. The Felician presence on campus has remained a vital part of the school’s identity for more than seven decades.