School History

Cathedral was founded as an all-boys Catholic high school on September 13, 1918, by Bishop Joseph Chartrand.  Classes began for 90 students in temporary quarters on the second floor of Cathedral Grade School at 13th and Pennsylvania.  After several relocations to accommodate a booming enrollment, Cathedral finally located in a new million-dollar school building at 14th and Meridian in 1927.  This space was Cathedral's home for the next 50 years.

By a unique arrangement, the Indianapolis Catholic Diocese owned Cathedral but engaged the Holy Cross Brothers of Notre Dame to serve as faculty.  The Brothers were an erudite teaching order who also served as faculty in a dozen schools throughout America.  Under the Brothers of Holy Cross, Cathedral's reputation as an outstanding academic institution grew, as did enrollment.  By the early 1950's, Cathedral was overflowing.

The Diocese decided to build an east-side school, Scecina Memorial, to ease the overcrowding, and in the early 1960's built Bishop Chatard High School on Kessler Boulevard.  Cardinal Ritter was built on the west side a short time later.

In the meantime, the Diocese decided to turn over control of its downtown school, Cathedral, to the Holy Cross Brothers. From 1964 to 1972, the Brothers ran Cathedral as a private, independent school.  One of the most significant results of "independence" was that Cathedral no longer received financial support from the church, which remains true today.

Because of declining enrollments and radically shifting population patterns to the suburbs, the Brothers were convinced by 1972 that the continued operation of Cathedral was not feasible.  In October that year, the Holy Cross Brothers announced Cathedral would close, effective June 1973.A group of parents, alumni, and friends rescued Cathedral by forming a non-profit organization to take over the school.  Robert V. Welch, a 1945 Cathedral alumnus and prominent real estate developer, organized the Cathedral Trustees, Inc. and for the next 15 years served as its Board Chairman.  In 1976, the Cathedral Trustees moved their school to the former site of Ladywood School (56th St. and Emerson Way), which had just been closed by the Sisters of Providence.  This year, girls were included in the Cathedral student body for the first time.

In 2011, Cathedral resumed a partnership with the Brothers of Holy Cross. The affiliation with Holy Cross has allowed Cathedral to expand it's faith formation and partner with Holy Cross high schools and colleges across the world. We are proud to have two Holy Cross priests and a Holy Cross brother on staff.

On September 13, 2018, Cathedral High School celebrated 100 years of educational service to young people in central Indiana. In 2026, Cathedral will celebrate 50 Years of Women as the school commemorates 50 years of being a co-ed school. 

Over the years, Cathedral has won several awards, the highest being the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Cathedral received the honor four times, in 1988, 2004, 2016, and 2022. Schools may only apply for the National Blue Ribbon Award every five years. In 2024, Cathedral was one of the first Catholic schools in the country to receive the Lumen Accreditation, an accreditation offered through The Catholic University of America to advance and promote the distinctive excellence of K-12 Catholic school education.

Cathedral continues to provide a holistic education encompassing spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth, building on the same mission that established the Fighting Irish tradition. There are approximately 1,130 students in Grades 9-12, and more than 100 faculty and staff members -- the majority of whom hold master's degrees or higher. The school offers diverse co-curricular activities in academic, cultural, and athletic disciplines. A full 100 percent of our graduating seniors are accepted to colleges and universities across the country and receive scholarships and awards to the schools of their choice. Students hail from more than 100 elementary and middle schools and 14 counties throughout central Indiana.

"While our immediate objective is to prepare students for college admission, our ultimate goal is to guide them toward being competent, concerned, responsible, and ethical members of society.  Our students and graduates are the best proof of our success." - Father Patrick Kelly, Former Cathedral Principal