Historic Narrative

For 180 years the first school operated by the Oblate Sisters of Providence has maintained a strong and consistent tradition of serving disenfranchised young people — the enslaved, the orphaned, the segregated, the immigrant, the poor.

St. Frances Academy’s founding mission was to teach “children of color to read the Bible”— an illegal act during an era of American slavery.  Established by a Sulpician priest and three founding members of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the school opened its doors on June 13, 1828 under the name Baltimore School for “Colored” Girls.  In the 1850’s, the Oblate Sisters honored their patron saint, St. Frances of Rome, by adding her name to the school’s title.  By the turn of the 20th century, the school was known as St. Frances of Rome Academy or simply St. Frances Academy (SFA).  In its earliest years the school’s location shifted throughout the city of Baltimore for various financial, racist, and political reasons. 

In 1870, St. Frances Academy moved to its present Chase Street location where its main building has served as a convent, an orphanage, a dormitory, and a school for young women.  In the mid-1970’s the school’s living space was converted into classrooms, the convent was moved to nearby Brentwood Avenue, and St. Frances Academy redefined itself as a co-educational high school and as an informal center of community activities.  In 2002, the St. Frances Academy campus expanded with a new 33,000 square foot facility housing additional classrooms, new computer labs, a health suite, meeting rooms, and gymnasium.  Enrollment has more than doubled in the last fifteen years, to 325 from 140.

Elizabeth Clarisse Lange is the primary founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence and St. Frances Academy.  In the early 21st century Mother Mary Lange, as she is better known, is a candidate for sainthood within the Catholic Church. Yet, her efforts were not embraced among the Catholic leadership of the nineteenth century.  In her time, the Church did not consider slavery a sin.  Leaders of the Archdiocese of Baltimore made efforts to condone the institution of slavery through its cooperation with a political group that sought to rid the country of all free Blacks.  One archbishop argued that cannon law endorsed the practice of slavery, and another owned human beings of African descent as personal property.   

Upon the 175th anniversary celebration of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, Dr. Camille Cosby recounted these early obstacles and remarked:

"These bare simple facts do more than make us pause at the tasks before the Oblate Sisters.  They make us marvel.”

Obstacles did not evaporate over time for Mother Lange, the Oblate Sisters, and the lay faculty of future years. 

With each new generation came a new set of challenges, another compelling struggle.   In the 1800’s children suffered because slavery degraded individuals, divided families, and inhibited almost all educational pursuits.  Segregation was the significant societal barrier for St. Frances students throughout most of the 20th century.  Today’s negative forces are drugs and violence.  These factors corrupt the emotional, spiritual, and academic growth of SFA students. 

Since its inception, St. Frances Academy has addressed the societal forces disrupting the potential of children and their families.  St. Frances has formed a tradition of improving confidence, providing emotional support, and helping young people dream beyond themselves through academics.  St. Frances Academy has embraced struggle, encouraged hope, and provided opportunity. 

In Mother Lange’s day, overcoming racism was the task at hand.  Today, addressing the devastating impact of drugs and violence is the task at hand.  In the midst of such devastation, the achievements of SFA students are beyond impressive.  The efforts and accomplishments of today’s St. Frances Academy “make us marvel.”

Willa Young Banks, “A Contradiction in Antebellum Baltimore: A Competitive School for Girls of ‘Color’ within a Slave State,” Maryland Historical Magazine 99, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 134.