St. Bernard's closing doors after 120 years

One of St. Paul's best-known Catholic high schools is closing. Officials with St. Bernard's parish on the City's North End said this year will be the school's last.

The parish on Rice Street has had a school for nearly 120 years. Founded by German immigrants, it was a mainstay of the city's Catholic community and started the high school in 1957.

But in a letter to parents and students on Thursday, the parish priest, father Michael Anderson, said that school officials and the archdiocese had decided they couldn't afford six-figure deficits projected for this year and next.

Anderson cited declining enrollment and the recession. Education experts say charter schools have been undercutting parochial education across the country.

St. Bernard's closed its elementary school last year, and another nearby Catholic grade school, Holy Childhood, has also announced its closure.

The parish will be marking the 190th anniversary of its first school opening on Monday.

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