St. John’s College, Brooklyn, 1914

ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE
Brooklyn, New York City, N. Y.

In the year 1865, Right Rev. John Loughlin, first Bishop of Brooklyn, invited the Priests of the Congregation of the Mission to establish a college for boys in that city. The invitation was formally accepted in 1867, when Very Rev. S. V. Ryan, C. M., Visitor of the Congregation of the Mission, afterward Bishop of Buffalo, decided to take steps to procure a suitable site for a college and church.

Under the superintendence of Rev. E. M. Smith, C. M., a frame church was erected in 1868; and in 1869 the present college building was begun and completed in the summer of 1870. On September 5 of that year the college was formally opened to receive students, under the presidency of Rev. J. T. Landry, C. M. In Rev. J. A. Hartnett’s term of office as President, the Church of St. John the Baptist, one of the most magnificent church edifices in the country, was built and dedicated. Under Father Hartnett’s administration, also, the Seminary wing was added, and formally opened on September 21, 1891.

St. John’s College was chartered under the general law of the State of New York, and is vested with the power to confer degrees. The primary aim of the college is to prepare boys for entrance into the Ecclesiastical Seminary. But the college also aims at imparting such commercial, scientific and literary training as will fit a young man to take up special courses in professional schools.

St. John’s College offers two courses of study, the classical and the commercial. Athletic sports are fostered and encouraged, but are always made subservient to the principal end of college education. A competent military instructor is employed to give lessons twice a week in military drill and tactics; and the College Battalion is reviewed from time to time by United States officers. Several prize scholarships are offered by patrons of the college. St. John’s College has been marked in its growth and successful in its work since its establishment. Its Alumni Association includes in its membership some of the most prominent clergymen and laymen in the Borough of Brooklyn.

Connected with St. John’s College is St. John’s Theological Seminary, for the training of young men preparing for the priesthood. It is an excellent institution, and is in charge of the same religious body that conduct the College. Many of the clergy of Brooklyn diocese are graduates of this Seminary.

The Catholic Church in the United States (1914)

St. John’s College was raised to university status in 1933. In the early 1950’s, the main campus was moved to Jamaica, Queens, where it remains today. The above drawing of the college dates back to the year 1887. (The seminary referred to closed in 1932.)