By Karen McCooey
To celebrate 200 years of “students for others,” Holy Trinity School is inviting its Georgetown neighbors to take part in a 200th Anniversary Celebration Weekend, Oct. 20 to 22.
Holy Trinity School was founded in 1818 by the first pastors of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Francis Neale, S.J., and Benedict Fenwick, S.J. The Jesuit priests began offering a free education to young parishioners and other neighborhood boys. When they opened the Free School for Boys (Holy Trinity School’s original name), the Jesuits made it possible for the sons of working families to obtain an education. Enrollment quickly grew to more than 100 boys.
One hundred years later, the girls from the Benevolent School joined the boys to form the current coeducational Holy Trinity School. Holy Trinity Parish undertook fundraising to construct new buildings for the school, reportedly raising the money from parishioners and Georgetown neighbors in just one week.
With 503 students, Holy Trinity School moved into its current upper and lower school buildings on 36th Street in 1918. All the teachers but one were nuns, and tuition was free for baptized children of Holy Trinity parishioners (tuition for non-Catholics was $1 per month).
Today, the school welcomes 340 students from prekindergarten through eighth grade. Annual tuition is $14,250 for Catholics and $18,250 for non-Catholics.
Under the leadership of Principal Kevin McShane, Holy Trinity School remains committed to the Jesuit traditions of educational excellence, the service of faith and the promotion of justice. The Holy Trinity community — school, parish and families — seeks to develop students who will manifest these traditions in an awareness of self, a love of learning and a desire to serve others. The school continues, 200 years later, to educate students in the Jesuit tradition to be students for others.
The anniversary weekend will kick off on Saturday, Oct. 20, with a Street Fair & Reunion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 36th and O Streets NW. Guests will enjoy food, games and entertainment. Admission is free.
On Sunday, Oct. 21, at 2:30 p.m., there will be a 200th Anniversary Mass in Holy Trinity Church, 3513 N St. NW, celebrated by the Rev. William H. Muller, S.J., executive director, Jesuit Schools Network. A catered reception, featuring performances by students and alumni, will follow in Trinity Hall.
The celebration concludes on Monday, Oct. 22, with the 27th Annual Golf & Tennis Classic at Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia.
For more information about the anniversary events, visit trinity.org/hts200.
