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As the school continued to prosper, the need for a bigger building became evident. In 1907, forty-nine years after its establishment, ground was broken for a new academy. The building was completed in 1908 in time for the Golden Jubilee celebration! The Golden Jubilee celebration began the morning of October 12, 1908, with a High Mass at St. Francis de Sales Church. A reception followed at the convent with over 1,000 guests in attendance. The night capped off with a musical program and guest speakers at the Kentucky Theater. Among the speakers were: Honorable Hal S. Corbett, Honorable James P. Smith (the mayor and former St. Mary’s Academy student), Mr. John J. Dorian, and Colonel Q.Q. Quigley, whose children attended the academy. Colonel Quigley made the principal address that evening and had the distinction of saying the very first commencement exercise held at the academy in 1858.
In 1910, St. Mary’s Academy became one of the outstanding educational institutions in Western Kentucky. She applied to the Department
of Education for accreditation and received a Class A rating. Some years later, St. Mary’s Academy obtained membership in the Southern
Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. We have maintained various accreditations through the years, always with an assurance of
high academic standards and achievement.
The Sisters were renowned and had an impeccable reputation. The noted poet, Thomas J. Walsh of Louisville, spoke of the Sisters in a most favorable way:
“These Sisters believe in teaching their pupils that there is an Almighty Mastermind
over us. They believe that we ourselves contain within us an eternal principle
of life, an immortal soul that shall outlive and outlast the stars of heaven,
and shall survive the sun and the moon and shall coexist forever with the
Angels in Heaven. They teach that we are God’s children, dependent upon Him for all
that we are, all that we hope to be, and that HE will hold us accountable for all that we do and omit to do in this life.
They teach us that religion is the basis on which we must rely for everything. They
teach us that God will hold us accountable for everything, and that after this life there
shall be another, an everlasting life. They teach that we shall exist forever,
and that the character of that existence shall be determined by the character
Of the life we live here.”
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