Administrative/Biographical History
In 1950, Bishop John O’Hara, CSC of Buffalo, invited the Society of Saint Edmund to open a Diocesan High School in Dunkirk, New York. Cardinal Mindszenty High School (CMHS) was named in honor of Hungarian leader Jozsef Mindszenty [1892-1975], who opposed Nazi rule during WWII and was named Cardinal Archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary in 1946. In 1948, he was arrested for treason for his oppostion to the communist regime. The school opened in the Fall of 1950 with Fr. Francis Moriarty, SSE as Superior. The SSE community decided to withdrew from the High School at the end of the 1963/4 school year, in preparation for the opening of the new SSE Missions in Venezuela and the planned Junior Seminary in Allentown, PA. In 1964, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Buffalo took over the school and it became coeducational. CMHS finally closed its doors in 1979, although an active alumni association keeps the memory alive. The Edmundites maintained a canonical house at Dunkirk, and its members served as principals, teachers and staff of CMHS until 1964. The house (and the original school) was located in the Gross Mansion at 715 Central Avenue. Author: Elizabeth Scott
