Local Administration. Cardinal Mindszenty High School, 1950-1964 | Saint Michael's College Archives & Special Collections

By Elizabeth Scott

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Collection Overview

Title: Local Administration. Cardinal Mindszenty High School, 1950-1964

ID: SSE 6/SSE 6.2

Extent: 1.0 Cubic Feet

Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically

Date Acquired: 10/01/2001

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The bulk of the collection is made up of student publications, including nine years of the student newspaper and twelve years of the yearbook. Memorabilia, miscellaneous and newspaper clippings are the other items related to the school itself. The remainder of the files, including the Customs, Financial Reports and Status Domus, are related to the CMHS House. The Customs are interesting, as they lay out the activities and practices of this particular house, which sometimes differ from the Society as a whole. Photographs are filed in the SSE Photograph Collection under Cardinal Mindszenty High School.

Collection Historical Note

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.

Administrative Information

Repository: Saint Michael's College Archives & Special Collections

Access Restrictions: None

Acquisition Source: Records Transfer

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[All]

Box 1

Folder 1: Correspondence SG Purtill 1952-1958

Folder 2: Correspondence SG Purtill 1958-1964

Folder 3: Customs of CMHS House n.d.

Folder 4: Financial Reports 1953-1963

Folder 5: Memorabilia

Folder 6: Miscellaneous

Folder 7: Newspaper clippings

Folder 8: Status Domus 1952/53-1958/59

Folder 9: Student Newspaper The Herald 1950-March 1954

Folder 10: Student Newspaper The Herald Nov. 1954-March 1959

Item 1: Yearbooks The Herald 1952 (2)
Item 2: Yearbooks The Herald 1954 (3)
Item 3: Yearbooks The Herald 1955 (2)
Item 4: Yearbooks The Herald 1956 (3)
Item 5: Yearbooks The Herald 1957 (2)
Item 6: Yearbooks The Herald 1958 (2)
Item 7: Yearbooks The Herald 1959 (2)

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[All]