"...our institutions make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and truly serve society. They become places in which God's active presence in human affairs is recognized and in which every young person discovers the joy of entering into Christ's being for others."
- Pope Benedict XVI
Catholic school education became available in Bismarck when Fr. Chrysostom Foffa, a Benedictine priest who was the first resident pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church - the first Catholic church in Bismarck - sought to build a convent and a school building. On March 19, 1878, four Benedictine Sisters from St. Joseph, Minnesota, arrived in Bismarck to begin teaching at St. Mary's School. During its more than 100 years, St. Mary's Central High School and St. Anne School were added, as well as our own Cathedral School in 1946.
In 2012, an historic event occurred as the Light of Christ Catholic Schoolswas founded, putting all the schools (Cathedral, St. Anne, and St. Mary's Schools, and St. Mary's Central High School) under one common Catholic vision and identity. In 2013, St. Mary's Academy was founded, bringing three Catholic junior high schools into one. The Light of Christ Catholic Schoolsare jointly operated by the five Catholic parishes of Bismarck: Ascension, Cathedral, Corpus Christi, St. Anne's and St. Mary's. Catholic schools are strong and vibrant in the city of Bismarck.
Click on the links in the submenu on this page to view the websites for Cathedral Elementary School and Light of Christ Catholic Schools.