Saint Charles Preparatory School is a four-year Catholic college preparatory school in Columbus, Ohio, US. It was founded in 1923 by the fourth bishop of Columbus, James J. Hartley, as a Roman Catholic college and high school seminary. Today, it is an all-male high school serving the Catholic Diocese of Columbus.
The school's patron is Saint Charles Borromeo, and its motto is Building Better Men. The previous motto, Euntes Ergo Docete Omnes Gentes, was a quote from the Gospel of Matthew (28:19) in the Latin Vulgate: "Going out, therefore, teach all nations." It was replaced with the current motto in 2023 to celebrate the school's 100th anniversary. The original nickname of Saint Charles students is "Carolians", derived from the Latin word "Carolus," which means "Charles." In 1947, the students also began to refer to themselves as "Cardinals." The Saint Charles sports mascot is Charlie the Cardinal.
Campuses and founding
The school consists of two campuses. The oldest campus is Main Campus, which contains the main academic building, gymnasium, theater, and natatorium. The newest campus is West Campus, which contains the athletic facility, track, and mentoring center. The school was founded in 1923 by Bishop James J. Hartley as a high school and college seminary for the education of Catholic priests for the service of the Diocese of Columbus. The first classes, consisting of 27 boys, were held at Sacred Heart School, an all-girls Catholic school, while the main school building was being built from 1923 to 1925.
Main Campus
<!-- Deleted image removed: 320px|thumb|left|A map depicting main campus -->
On November 4, 1923, Bishop Hartley purchased the original 20-acre site, with ground being broken for the main building in July 1924. By September 1925, construction of the main school building was completed and classes were held there. In 1931, the gymnasium and the Our Lady Lourdes Grotto were completed, and in 1941 the theater building on the west side of campus was completed. The project was finished in 2023, not only building the new Convocation Center, but also enhancing the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, and creating a new central campus plaza.
After beginning in 2023, construction on the Brotherhood Center finished in 2025. The Brotherhood Center repurposed the school's former gymnasium into a multifaceted area with classrooms, offices, a library, and a larger new space designed to help students with their academics.
West Campus
<!-- Deleted image removed: 320px|thumb|left|A map depicting West Campus -->
For the first time in its 89-year history, the school expanded its current Broad Street campus footprint. The centerpiece of this project is the newly purchased property which formerly housed the Dealers Lumber Company and came up for sale in the summer of 2010. St. Charles moved quickly to acquire the 6.2-acre site and closed on the purchase in December. The Robert D. Walter West Campus includes the Savko Athletic Complex, comprising a six-lane running track, the artificial-turf Dominic and Kathleen Cavello Field and parking; a 13,000-square-foot training and fitness facility (weight room and 30 yard turf field for speed and agility); and the Horvath Parking Lot. A pedestrian bridge that spans Alum Creek helps connect it with the main campus at 2010 E. Broad St. The full project, paid for through fundraisers, private donations and in-kind gifts, cost about $5.1 million.
In 2018, Saint Charles unveiled the new Robotics and Mentoring Center (even further west from Main Campus than West Campus, thus gaining the colloquial "West West Campus" or "West-er Campus"). The new center costs $2 million and is 14,000-square-feet.
Academics
St. Charles graduation requirements include: 4 years of religion class, English, foreign language (1 year of Latin required), mathematics, and science; 3 years of social studies; and 1 year of fine arts, health, physical education. Some of the AP classes that are offered to juniors and seniors are AP Latin, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, English, Calculus, US History, and World History. For the 2019–2020 year, Saint Charles will add Computer Science Principles and Government.
In 2005, the State of Ohio implemented the new Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) and Saint Charles Preparatory was one of three schools in Central Ohio to have every sophomore pass every section. (The statewide public school pass rate was 64%.)
Theatre
thumb|The theatre building at St. Charles in 1943.
Since St. Charles is an all-male school, the theatre department has had to use different methods to incorporate the female roles of plays and musicals. Both prep school and seminary students performed the first plays at St. Charles in 1929 under the direction of Monsignor Joseph A. Cousins. Female roles were played by male students dressing up as women until 1971. It was then that Mrs. Teresa McLean (the school's biology teacher) became the first woman to perform in a St. Charles play. The next year, female students from St. Joseph Academy and Bishop Watterson High School played female parts in a production. Ever since then, female roles for plays have been filled by open auditions from women at other Central Ohio schools.
Notable alumni
- Robert D. Walter: Founder of Cardinal Health, a Fortune 500 health care services company
- Bob Duffy (basketball, born 1922): Basketball player
- Robert Nugent Lynch: Bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida from 1996 to 2016
- Matt Lampson: MLS Goalkeeper for the Columbus Crew SC
- Aaron Diehl: Jazz pianist
- Nick Muszynski: NCAA basketball player for Belmont Bruins
Being an all boys Catholic school, the institution has a history of producing vocations to the priesthood. As of 2000, 171 high school graduates have been ordained to the priesthood, many of whom also went to St. Charles College. The first priests were ordained in 1927 and at least one alumnus was ordained a priest every year until 1968. There were no priests ordained in 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, or 1973. From 1975 until 2000, only two priests were ordained in 1977 and one in 1991. Since 2000, many alumni have been ordained priests, with more in formation.
The college also has 121 alumni priests, not including those who also are high school alumni. The first college alumnus was ordained in 1934. There were no priest alumni in 1944, 1947, 1952, 1963, or 1975. The final college alumnus to become a priest was ordained in 1976.
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List of principals and rectors
thumb|300px|right|St. Charles Preparatory School
{| class="wikitable"
! align="center" | Years
! align="center" | Principal / Rector
|-
| 1925–1942
| Joseph A. Weigand
|-
| 1942–1945
| Edward J. Leinheuser
|-
| 1945–1957
| Paul J. Glenn
|-
| 1957–1969
| Paul J. O'Dea
|-
| 1958–1969
| George T. Woltz
|-
| 1969–1971
| Ralph J. Huntzinger
|-
| 1971–1976
| Charles A. Jackson
|-
| 1976–1985
| Daniel W. Pallay
|-
| 1985 – 2012
| Dominic J. Cavello
|-
| 2012–2024
| James R. Lower
|-
| 2024–Present
| Richard Ey
|}
On August 6, 2024, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus announced that the administrative model of St. Charles would change. Namely, in addition to the principal and vice principals, there would be a Head of School. Former principal Jim Lower became the first head of the school and former vice principal Rick Ey became the principal.
{| class="wikitable"
! align="center" | Years
! align="center" | Head of School
|-
| 2024–Present
| James R. Lower
|}
Athletics
Saint Charles is a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association and Ohio Water Polo. The list as follows:
Ohio State Championships
- Golf (Div I, 2)- 2009, 2010
- Soccer (A-AA, 2)- 1983, 1985
- Swimming (Div I, 1)- 2008, 2025
- Volleyball (non-OHSAA, 2)- 2009, 2018
- Water Polo (non-OHSAA, 8)- 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, Spring 2021, 2024, 2025
Borromean Lecture Series
The Borromean Lecture Series is an annual occurrence at Saint Charles, usually during the autumn semester, and is sponsored by Robert Dilenschneider, CEO of The Dilenschneider Group. It is named after the Borromeo family of which Saint Charles was a part of. The speakers are the elite in their field and are listed below:
{| class="wikitable"
! align="center" | School Year
! align="center" | Speaker
! align="center" | Occupation
|-
| 2001-2002
| Michael Novak
| U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
|-
| 2002-2003
| Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J.
| Cardinal-Deacon of Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, internationally known author and lecturer
|-
| 2003-2004
| colspan="2"; align="center"| There was no lecture this year
|-
| 2004-2005
| Joel Klein
| Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
|-
| 2005-2006
| Russell Hittinger, Ph.D.
| Warren Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa College of Law
|-
| 2006-2007
| Archbishop Celestino Migliore
| Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
|-
| 2007-2008
| Father John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
| President of the University of Notre Dame
|-
| 2008-2009
| Carl A. Anderson
| Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus
|-
| 2009-2010
| Father Robert F. O'Toole, S.J., S.S.D.
| President of the Gregorian University Foundation
|-
| 2010-2011
| Father Jeffery von Arx, S.J.
| President of the Fairfield University Foundation
|-
| 2011-2012
| William McGurn
| Vice President of News Corporation
|-
| 2012-2013
| John H. Garvey
| President of the Catholic University of America
|-
| 2013-2014
| Allan E. Goodman
| President of the Institute of International Education
|-
| 2014-2015
| Father Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
| President of Loyola University Chicago
|-
| 2015-2016
| Steve Forbes
| Chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes
|-
| 2016-2017
| Susan Eisenhower
| President of the Eisenhower Group
|-
| 2017-2018
| Kenneth L. Woodward
| Editor of Newsweek's Religion section (retired)
|-
| 2018-2019
| Gerard Baker
| Editor-at-large of The Wall Street Journal
|-
| 2019-2020
| Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D.
| President of Seton Hall University
|-
| 2020-2021
| colspan="2"; align="center"| Did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic
|-
| 2021-2022
| Monsignor Thomas W. Powers
| Vicar General of Diocese of Bridgeport, later Rector of the Pontifical North American College
|-
| 2022-2023
| Louis Nanni
| Vice President for University Relations at the University of Notre Dame
|-
| 2023-2024
| Father Enrique Salvo
| Rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York
|-
| 2024-2025
| Cardinal Timothy Dolan
| Cardinal-Priest Archbishop of New York
|-
| 2025-2026
| Joe Mazzulla
| Coach of the Boston Celtics
|}
See also
- List of high schools in Ohio
Notes
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