History

St. Augustine Cathedral School began in 1872 as a parish school in the basement of the parish church on Kalamazoo Avenue.

In 1925, Fr. Hackett moved the parish and school to our current site. During his time, a high school building, an elementary school building, a Church and a convent were built. Monsignor Keating arrived at St. A in 1955, and in 1963, Msgr. Keating remodeled the high school, and it became O’Brien High School for Girls. Hackett High School for boys moved to Kilgore Ave. A new elementary school building was built on W. Michigan Ave. site in 1964. 

In 1971, O’Brien High School and Hackett High School merged and moved to Kilgore Ave. Fr. Crowley became pastor of St. Augustine parish one week before it became the Cathedral for the newly formed Diocese of Kalamazoo. Fr. Crowley remodeled part of the old O’Brien High School building to become the new rectory for the Cathedral. 

The 1980, a tornado in Kalamazoo destroyed the elementary school building. Staff and students moved back into the old elementary/high school building, where the school remains today.

During the summer of 2014, St. Augustine Cathedral, school, and the Diocesan
Pastoral Center began the Community Anchor Project – Love Thy Neighbor! Our campus
was transformed into a beautiful multi-purpose playing field, community gardens, outdoor classroom space, and playground. 

In Fall 2018, the Community Anchor Project – Love Thy Neighbor! was completed, with landscaping along W. Michigan Ave., restructuring the parking lot, and adding a landscaped terrace and benches in front of the school.