Scecina Memorial High School,

a Catholic, college preparatory school,

bears witness to Jesus’ Good News

by educating our diverse community of students

in spirit, mind and body

to become servants and leaders

who “give that little extra”.

The namesake of the first archdiocesan Roman Catholic high school in Indianapolis was born in Vicksburg, Indiana, on September 16, 1910. He graduated from St. Meinrad Seminary in 1935 and enlisted in the Army Chaplain's Reserve Corps on  October 5, 1939. Father Thomas Scecina had previously been posted at Holy Trinity and St. John's parishes in Indianapolis.

Taken prisoner by Japanese military forces in April 1942, Father Scecina was forced to participate in the Bataan Death March and was interned as a prisoner of war at O'Donnell and Cabanatuan camps. In fall 1944, the Japanese made preparations to transfer all prisoners of war to mainland Japan against the Geneva War Convention. Father Scecina was placed on the military ship, the Arisan Maru, and went through two weeks of torture before the ship was torpedoed by an American submarine. 1,792 military prisoners aboard were killed, including Father Scecina, who had volunteered to be transported to continue to provide the Word of God to his men. Eight POW's survived to tell of Father Scecina's last hours.

Subsequently, for acts of heroism above and beyond the call of duty, Father Thomas Scecina was posthumously awarded many military honors, among them the Silver Star and the Bronze Star. He was also awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded in service to his country.

In 1952, there was sufficient need and desire for a Catholic coeducational high school on the Eastside of Indianapolis. A plot of land at 5000 Nowland Avenue was purchased in conjunction with a successful 1 million dollar fund drive, and on August 21, 1952, ground was broken, with the cornerstone being laid on December 21, 1952. On September 21, 1953, classes began for 128 freshman girls and 127 freshman boys under Father Harry Hoover, who, as founding principal, had overseen the construction of the school.

The dedication of the school to Father Thomas Scecina, the only archdiocesan priest to give his life for his country in World War II, took place on October 18, 1953. The first graduating class of 219 students graduated in June 1957, and, within a decade, Scecina Memorial High School grew to a school of 1,400 students.

In August 2003, the school proudly opened its doors for its 50th anniversary year. Scecina Memorial is the first archdiocesan high school in Indianapolis to reach this historic milestone. Throughout its first 50 years, the school has continued its tradition “to give that little extra”. With great gratitude and reverence for its past, we look forward to another 50 years of changing lives in its crucial ministry of educating spirit, mind, and body.

In the fall of 1953, five sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg, became members of Scecina's first staff. Sister Hortense Fougerousse joined Father Harry Hoover as an administrator in the roll of Directress of Studies and Dean of Girls. Sister Georgine Bocklage was the school librarian, and Sisters Mary Hope Zorlaut, Rose Teresa Schneider, and Malachy Raben joined the teaching staff.

Since the convent was not yet built in 1953, the Sisters lived for a year at Little Flower Convent. In January of 1954 plans for a Scecina convent, now known as St. Francis Hall, were approved and the Sisters moved into the new building in the fall of 1954.

In a matter of a few years, the number of Sisters residing in the convent numbered twenty-one. However, by the year 1995, only one Sister remained on the staff; and several retired Sisters still resided in the convent. In 1997 the convent was officially closed, and the building since that time has been used for offices and meeting rooms. Sister Lavonne Long, the last Sister to reside on campus, recently retired in the summer of 2010.

The Scecina Memorial High School community embraces its long history of educating students to become effective community servants and leaders. The students, faculty, staff, and parents of the Scecina family have been nourished by the wisdom and caring of the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg throughout the history of the institution. Today, we continue our vibrant connection with the Sisters by adopting their Franciscan sponsorship values as the core values of Scecina Memorial High School. These values are:

Dignity of the Individual
Peace and Justice
Reconciliation
Responsible Stewardship