1949-1959

In the early 1950s a significant turning point in the history of our school, as in the nation, took place. In 1953, The Most Reverend Bishop Vincent S. Waters – third Bishop of Raleigh – decreed that all discrimination in Catholic parishes, programs and institutions cease. Bishop Waters’ decision to integrate Catholic schools was significant because it came one year before the Supreme Court decision that compelled public schools across the country to integrate.

In 1954, Cathedral Latin High School became the first integrated school in the state by admitting students from St. Monica Grade School, part of St. Monica Parish, which was founded in 1930 to serve Raleigh’s tiny African-American Catholic community. There was, however, a temporary backlash because of Bishop Waters’ actions. Other athletic teams in the area refused to play “integrated” Cathedral Latin teams. Because of this, all sports activities had to be called off for the 1953-1954 and 1954-1955 school years. By the 1960s, all of St. Monica’s students were fully incorporated into the elementary and high schools and the faculties of St. Monica School, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart, and the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh, New York, joined forces.

As a side note, the story of integration at Cathedral Latin was not merely a success trumpeted in North Carolina, but was considered an inspirational example of integration in action across the world. In 1959, the Rector of Ledalero Theological Seminary in Maumere, Indonesia wrote a letter congratulating the school for its success story.

This decade also ushered in some yearly traditions. They include the Ring Ceremony at which rising seniors receive their class rings, a tradition that continues today. The “Crusader” mascot dates to the 1949-1950 school year. At that time, the high school age students at Nazareth Orphanage were transferred permanently to Cathedral Latin High School; two years later the orphanage’s elementary school closed.  Once the two teams merged, Cathedral Latin adopted the Nazareth mascot as its own. Meanwhile, the most popular after school gathering places for students during the 1950s were Finch’s Drive-In on Peace Street and Roy’s Drive-In on Hillsborough Street.