Ramsey County History – Fall 1978: “The Dynamic Sister Antonia and the College of St. Catherine’s”

The Dynamic Sister Antonia and the College of St. Catherine’s
Author: Sister Karen Kennelly

A description of the events leading up to the opening of the College of St. Catherine in January 1905 and its early history. The college grew out of St. Joseph’s Academy and was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Sister Seraphine (Ellen Ireland), and Archbishop John Ireland, among others, with the help of a generous gift from Hugh Derham. “That a standard, four-year liberal arts college evolved from these uncertain beginnings as quickly as it did was largely due to the genius of Sister Antonia (Anna) McHugh.” She joined the Sisters as a novice in 1890 and was on the teaching staff of Derham Hall, the college’s preparatory school, when it opened. Archbishop Ireland persuaded his sister to appoint Sister Antonia dean (later president) of St. Catherine’s in 1914. Under her leadership, the college achieved accreditation, built six major buildings and a library, upgraded its faculty, acquired a lay board of trustees, and graduated over a thousand students. Sister Antonia retired on 1936 following a stroke and died in 1944.
PDF of Kennelly article