St. Mary's University

St. Mary's University has served the educational needs of residents in San Antonio and throughout Texas since the mid-1800s. In 1851, the Rev. Jean-Marie Odin, Vicar Apostolic and later Bishop of Galveston, traveled to France to recruit clergy to serve in churches and schools he founded. He petitioned the Society of Mary, a Catholic religious order, to send teachers to San Antonio. They responded by sending Jean Baptiste Laignoux, Nicholas Koenig, Xavier Mauclerc and Andrew Edel, who arrived in San Antonio and opened the all-male St. Mary's Institute on August 12, 1852. Layman Timothy O'Neill assisted the French-speaking brothers. "The French School" as residents called it, first operated out of a structure overlooking Military Plaza., Enrollment quickly grew and St. Mary's Institute soon moved into a larger facility on what is now College Street. By 1861, the school had 350 enrollees, and in 1866, Brother Charles Francis became the administrator. By 1877, a four-story building was constructed. In 1882, the school changed its name to St. Mary's College and in 1894, the brothers opened a new campus, named St. Louis College, northwest of downtown. By 1919, the school earned accreditation, and in 1926, it became a four-year institution, changing its name to St. Mary's University. In 1934, St. Mary's began to administer the San Antonio Bar Association's Law School. In 1963, St. Mary's became a co-educational institution., Since its early years, St. Mary's has maintained a rich tradition of academic excellence, civic engagement and service to others by helping the less fortunate. Today, the university continues to be a leading institution of higher learning, shaping men and women to serve as leaders throughout the world.