Mission, Goals, & History

Sacred Heart's Founding & the 1800s

Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in Paris in 1800  to give glory to the Heart of Christ through the means of education. The Society grew rapidly and, in 1818, Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne led a small group of Religious of the Sacred Heart to the New World. Arriving in New Orleans, the group traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Charles, Missouri, where they founded a school. This was not only the first Sacred Heart school in the United States, but also the first  school west of the Mississippi River. Our School opened in Manhattan in 1848 with 60 students in a rented house on Bleecker Street. The need for permanent and larger quarters prompted the School’s move to 17th Street in 1855. Sacred Heart flourished as a day school for the next 50 years at this location.

Expansion in the Early 1900s

By the early 1900s, Lower Manhattan had become quite commercial, so the Society  of the Sacred Heart transferred the School to a quieter part of the city. In 1905,  the Society purchased the Ogden Estate, an 11-acre property at 174th Street and University Avenue. Here, the School was known as Maplehurst, and although its beginnings were small, enrollment grew to 135 students with the addition of weekly boarding students.

Relocation to Greenwich in 1945

In 1942, the Society purchased the Paul Block Estate in Greenwich, and the School moved to its present location on King Street, opening its doors to 16 boarders and 82 day students on September 27, 1945.

Continued Campus Growth in the 2000s

Over the years, the Sacred Heart Greenwich campus has changed greatly. In November 2011, the School purchased from the Society the 118-acre King Street campus, and in October 2017, the School donated eight of the acres along the Byram River to the Greenwich Land Trust. Our enrollment from early childhood through 12th grade contributes to a stimulating diversity of thoughts and ideas.

Visit our Campus Gallery for more photos of our beautiful campus.

Celebrating 175 Years of Excellence

Inspired by the Goals and Criteria of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools, Sacred Heart Greenwich continues to focus on the spiritual, intellectual, moral, and social formation of the whole child. The Network offers opportunities for student exchange and faculty collaboration with Sacred Heart schools worldwide. As we have since 1848, we endeavor to develop in each student a concern for others through the sharing of experiences, a love of learning, and the ability to apply her knowledge to moral, intellectual, and social questions.