Providence Catholic High School

Providence Catholic High School (often referred to as Providence, Provi, or abbreviated PCHS) is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in New Lenox, Illinois. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Providence Catholic is a private school run by the Order of Saint Augustine and is a member of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association.. The school is located at the crossroads of Lincoln Highway (also part of U.S. Highway 30) and Interstate 80. History Providence Catholic High School began as St. Mary Academy for Girls, a commercial school in Joliet, Illinois run by the Sisters of Loretto. The school opened in 1880, though the original building was not opened until 1883. Eventually, academic classes were added. In 1918, the Archdiocese of Chicago invited the Sisters of Providence to take over the school. On October 22 of that year, the school's name was changed to Providence High School. In 1931, the academic classes were stopped as the Great Depression took its toll on the school. In 1932, the school reverted to a two-year commercial school. A four-year secretarial program opened in 1938. Though the academic courses were reinstated after the Depression, the school building was condemned as a fire hazard in 1959 and demolished. From 1959 through 1962, the school met at St. Mary Nativity Elementary School. When the old building was demolished, it is said that students sifted through the wreckage looking for bricks that were not crushed. They wrapped the bricks and sold them as souvenirs to help build the new Providence.