Roman Catholic High School for Boys

The Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia opened in 1890 as an all-male high school located at the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Roman Catholic, or simply Roman, as it is often called, was founded by Thomas E. Cahill, a nineteenth century Philadelphia merchant. Cahill saw the need to create a school that offered a free Catholic education for boys, past their grammar school y... more

The Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia opened in 1890 as an all-male high school located at the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Roman Catholic, or simply Roman, as it is often called, was founded by Thomas E. Cahill, a nineteenth century Philadelphia merchant. Cahill saw the need to create a school that offered a free Catholic education for boys, past their grammar school years. He died before he saw his vision come to life; however, the wishes that he laid out in his will were followed. As such, Roman Catholic opened its doors in 1890 and offered a free education to boys. Roman is the oldest free Diocesan Catholic high school in North America. Despite Cahill's dream, due to increased costs of staff and facilities, free admission to the school ended in the 1960s. As of 2008 the tuition for all Archdiocesan high schools in Philadelphia is approximately $4,860 per year. Roman was not always as successful as it is... less