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About Us
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Our History
The dream of a school and convent for Holy Cross Parish was revived by Rev. John E. Murray who served as pastor of Holy Cross from 1923 to 1940. His friend and neighbor, Mr. Bernon Prentice sold his adjacent estate, “The Corners,” and insisted that the northern edge be offered to the church to purchase “at any cost,” so Msgr. Patrick J. Clune, Fr. Murray’s successor was able to purchase the land for only $10,000. Mr. Prentice then conveyed the remaining 5.6 acres, including his mansion, to Holy Cross in memory of his good friend Fr. Murray. Bishop William Griffin presided over the dedication of Holy Cross School on September 8, 1941. The first class at Holy Cross School had 74 students in Kindergarten through Grade 4. By 1946, school enrollment had grown to 169 students, and in June of that year, the school celebrated its first Grade 8th graduation with 23 graduates.
Holy Cross School has roots on the banks of the Shrewsbury River in Rumson, NJ, dating back to 1886. The original Parish Hall was constructed in 1894 under the supervision of Holy Cross Pastor Rev. Edward J. Egan on a small tract of land purchased from the Samuel H. Hartshorne family, whose property was adjacent to the Church. His plan was to build a convent for the Sisters of Mercy, so they could live and teach at the future school. Fr. Egan was unable to acquire the Sisters during that time, and due to diminished enrollment, he was forced to close the school in 1898.
The Sisters of Mercy were the cornerstone of Holy Cross School from the very beginning. The school’s first principal was Sr. Marie Jeanne Maguire, and Sr. Mary Sheila Storm and Sr. Mary Eustace Hoover were the founding teachers. While the mansion was being renovated, the sisters had to commute from St. James Convent in Red Bank. Once in place at Holy Cross, they earned their living expenses by preparing hot lunches for the students once a week. Ten cents for a cup of homemade soup, fifteen cents for a bowl, plus a free peanut butter sandwich, was the standard fare. The sisters had no janitor, so they cleaned the convent and school on Saturdays.
Under the tenure of Pastor Msgr. Joseph A. Sullivan, 1947-1973, the school enrollment grew by leaps and bounds. To meet their growing needs, an entirely new school was built. The school was rededicated by Bishop George Ahr on September 19, 1954, and it included an auditorium, a proper kindergarten room, a library, and a health clinic. This is the long part of the school that still exists today. The school building was enlarged in 1962 to include a chapel and convent. The convent now houses Holy Cross Preschool and the Parish offices.
As the number of sisters decreased, the need to hire lay staff increased. Monsignor Sullivan met this need in 1967 by establishing the first school board in the Diocese of Trenton. It was called the Holy Cross School Board of Education. It brought together the PTA, administrators, religious and lay faculty, and had various committees to address curriculum, grounds, finance, legal issues and management. This group provided the necessary fundraising and organization to keep the school operational. The Board continued to function successfully under the direction of Rev. William J. Kokoszka, pastor of Holy Cross from 1973 to 1988.
In 1980, due to dwindling vocations, the Sisters of Mercy were forced to withdraw their sisters from Holy Cross School. The Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus filled the void left by the sisters. Sister Carmelisa Dragoni took over as Principal and Sister Barbara Vitori and Sister Gloria Louise Levari taught in the school. Later, Sister Isabel Piunti became Principal when Sister Carmelisa was transferred to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Highlands and Sister Lorraine Klein, Sister Christina May, Sister Angela Pia Camilotti and Sister Michelle DeGregorio came to teach at Holy Cross School. The Franciscan Sisters remained at Holy Cross until 1992.
Rev. Michael Manning, M.D., S.T.L., took over as Pastor in 2004, and immediately started work on a school expansion project. On December 16, 2006, he and Principal Patricia Graham celebrated the rededication of the expanded school. The expansion converted the old auditorium/gym into two floors, including a library/media center, professional kitchen, and new bathrooms. It also added a new state-of-the-art “gymnatorium” fully equipped for athletics, school events and for Mass when needed, four new interactive classrooms, a science lab and a full update to 21st century technology.
Principal William J. Belluzzi (2012-2017), continued to make improvements to the school. State of the art technology was a major goal, including tablets for every student in Grades 4-8, Smart Boards in every classroom, a 3D printer for technology classes, Oculus Rift virtual reality in the middle school science lab, and 5G wireless internet throughout the building. Academically, Holy Cross was a model of Catholic education. In 2015 it was named by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
In July 2017, Dr. Mark DeMareo became principal of Holy Cross School. His goals for the school were to establish a stronger financial foundation for the future while increasing academic excellence and maintaining the cherished family atmosphere for which the school is known. The Holy Cross Rumson Education Foundation was established in 2018 with the goal of creating and meeting long-term financial goals and building an endowment.
Seeing demographic and economic changes on the horizon, Dr. DeMareo suggested a bold move to Fr. Manning: convert Holy Cross School into a premier academy; a smaller, more rigorous preparatory school for the renowned Catholic high schools in Monmouth County. With Fr. Manning’s blessing, Dr. DeMareo reached out to JoAnn Tier, Superintendent of Schools, for approval and she gave permission for Dr. DeMareo to apply to Bishop David O’Connell. On April 9, 2019, Bishop O’Connell wrote to Dr. DeMareo and approved the request.
On October 3, 2019, Bishop O’Connell celebrated the inauguration of Holy Cross Academy with a Mass of Celebration in Holy Cross Church. In addition to the Diocese of Trenton Department of Catholic Schools representatives, Congressman Chris Smith, Joan Schloeder, District Director for Congressman Chris Smith and Mayor Joseph Hemphill of Rumson were in attendance for the rededication of Holy Cross Academy. The rich history of Holy Cross continues, always with one goal at its heart: to educate children in the love of Jesus Christ.HOLY CROSS PRINCIPALS
Sister Marie Jeanne Maguire
Sister Carmelisa Dragoni
Sister Isabel Piunti
Mrs. Janet Wood
Mr. Tom Bugliaro
Mrs. Patricia Graham
Mr. William Belluzzi
Dr. Mark DeMareo
Mr. Christopher McCarrick