History

In the mid-1880s, Southern Maryland residents Colonel and Mrs. Richard H. Miles purchased property in Leonardtown. They offered this property, known as Rose Hill, to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) on condition they establish and cultivate a Catholic school. In the spring of 1884, Father Charles Jenkins, S.J. invited Mother Helena Torney and Sister Marie Meynard, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN), to Rose Hill. Traveling from Kentucky, the sisters must have thought it providence, as Southern Maryland was the very birthplace of their founder, Mother Catherine Spalding. With a faculty of four sisters, Sister Madeline Sharkey, SCN took up the challenge and opened St. Mary's Academy in the fall of 1885.

St. Mary's Academy grew rapidly as a co-educational boarding school and accepted students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The burgeoning population of St. Mary's County and Southern Maryland soon rendered the academy too small and a new school building was erected in 1936. In 1956, the school expanded yet again with a dormitory, convent, and new chapel. But with the opening of the new all boys' Ryken High School, the Sisters at St. Mary's Academy carried on their selfless dedication as a school for young women.

In 1916, to their good fortune, the Xaverian Brothers purchased over one hundred acres along Breton Bay from Mr. Enoch Abell. In the beginning, the land was utilized as a camp for boys known as Camp Calvert. Young men flocked from the cities to spend a few weeks of their summer vacations at Camp Calvert. But the brothers' vision for this property was to eventually build a school and novitiate for boys. Their dream became reality in 1956 with the opening of Ryken High School. The school, named after Theodore James Ryken, founder of the Xaverian order, served as a juniorate for those with vocations to the Xaverian Brothers as well as a high school for young men in Southern Maryland. Brother Lambert Bents, CFX, founding principal, led his fellow brothers in developing and perpetuating the spiritually strong foundation still evident at St. Mary's Ryken today.

Classes were first held in what is now Paschal Hall in the front campus. With ever rising enrollment, the brothers renovated two novitiate buildings on the grounds to accommodate more students; first Rupert Hall in 1970 and then Xavier Hall in 1973.

St. Mary's Academy and Ryken High School continued their respective educational missions. But, with the diminishing number of boarders and vocational candidates, both schools elected to close their dormitories and operate as Catholic high schools serving the students of St. Mary's, Calvert, Charles, and Prince Georges Counties in Southern Maryland. The schools worked as partners and collaborated academically, socially and spiritually. SMA and RHS supported each other through sports programs, theater and music productions, dances, proms, festivals, community events, and academic instruction.

By the late 1970s, both schools experienced declining enrollments. With a shared commitment to academic excellence and spiritual growth, the Xaverian Brothers and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth agreed to merge into one coeducational Catholic high school. In 1981, St. Mary's Ryken High School became heir to the rich traditions of both parent institutions. Since their inceptions, St. Mary's Academy, Ryken High School, and St. Mary's Ryken have proudly graduated over 7,200 students (more than 2,700 from St. Mary's Ryken).

Today, St. Mary's Ryken is a private Catholic college preparatory high school under sponsorship of the Xaverian Brothers. Overlooking the shores of Breton Bay, the 87 acre campus boasts five educational facilities, including Brother Romuald Hall, the new fine arts and media center. Currently, St. Mary's Ryken has a faculty of 55 teaching professionals and a student body of 670. St. Mary's Ryken continues to be the only Catholic high school in Southern Maryland supporting students from St. Mary's, Calvert, Charles, and Prince George Counties.

St. Mary's Ryken adheres to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church renewed with the spirit and impetus of Vatican Council II. Very much in the spirit of St. Mary's Ryken's founding sisters and brothers, the educational cornerstones that still hold our school and educational system intact are the Gospel ideals of love of God and neighbor. We are proud and enriched by our illustrious and holy past and eternally grateful for the spiritual gifts given to us from our founders, alumni, and friends. It is from our past that enables St. Mary's Ryken to look to the future.