The School was founded by the Very Rev. James F. Green, O.S.A. Construction of what was Green Hall was the initial step in forming the original campus. Student enrollment mounted rapidly and in 1922, when the pressure of other duties necessitated Fr. Green's retirement from scholastic work, St. Rita High School had become established in Chicago as one of the leading secondary schools.
Successor to the founder was the Very Rev. William L. Egan, O.S.A., during whose incumbency the original Harris Gym and Egan Hall were completed. The Very Rev. Joseph B. Kepperling, O.S.A. followed Father Egan in 1926, but his splendid work was brought to an untimely close by his death on June 4, 1929. The Very Rev. John J. Harris, O.S.A. was selected as the next rector to direct St. Rita's destiny.
In the summer of 1935, the Rev. Ruellan P. Fink, O.S.A. succeeded Father Harris. Father Fink was the motivating spirit of many noteworthy developments, of which the most important achievement was the installation of a technical course in 1936.
Father Fink also began an extensive expansion program as evidenced by the erection of the Mendel technical building, completed in June 1938, and the addition to Egan Hall, completed in August 1939. A modern concrete stadium was built in 1946 and the new monastery was completed in May 1949.
Rev. John E. McLaughlin, O.S.A. succeeded Father Fink in 1956 as Principal. In 1962 Rev. Francis P. Crawford, O.S.A. became Principal. He was succeeded in 1968 by the Very Rev. Daniel B. Trusch, O.S.A. In 1971 Rev. LaVern J. Flach, O.S.A. became Principal; in 1979 Rev. David L. Brecht, O.S.A., in 1983 Rev. Patrick E. Murphy, O.S.A. became Principal and in 1989 Rev. Bernard R. Danber, O.S.A. was appointed Principal. Both Fr. Murphy and Fr. Danber are graduates of St. Rita High School.
On June 27, 1990, Rev. Bernard R. Danber O.S.A. was given the keys to the new campus at 7740 South Western Ave. In 1993 a new president-principal model was adopted for the school. Rev. Michael J. O'Connor, O.S.A. became the school's first president. Rev. O'Connor appointed Mr. Joseph F. Bamberger as Principal. In the year 2000 Rev. Thomas McCarthy O.S.A. was then named the second President and the first alumni president of St. Rita High School. In the spring of 2002 Rev. McCarthy, O.S.A. became President-Principal after Mr. Joseph F. Bamberger retired after 42 years of dedicated service to St. Rita High School.
St. Rita High School has been the source of many leaders of the Chicagoland area for the past 100 years. In 1990 the St. Rita Campus moved from 63rd and Claremont Avenue to 77th and Western Avenue at the old Quigley Seminary South High School. The original football stadium at 63rd and Claremont was used in the begininng of the movie Rudy. The 1963 football team was recognized as National Champions.
Patron Saint
Saint Rita of Cascia
St Rita of Cascia was wife, mother (of twins), and after the murder of her husband and the death her two sons, she spent 40 years as a nun living the Rule of St. Augustine in the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalen at Cascia. She now is a pre-eminent Augustinian saint, canonized in 1900.
