Academia del Sagrado Corazón

The Academia del Sagrado Corazón was founded in 1929 as a private and religious school in Santurce, Puerto Rico by Padre Ignacio de Dios García. The school provides elementary and high school education and is located in Avenida Ponce de León, at the Parada 19 in Santurce.Before FoundationBefore the school was founded, a small school affiliated with the church had existed on the current parking lot grounds of the church. This early school was housed in a wooden structure that was destroyed when Hurricane Philip struck Puerto Rico in 1928. This early school had only been an elementary school that had added a new grade every year.Foundation and Early HistoryAfter the early school was destroyed, it was decided to rebuild the school with a cement block structure that would be able to withstand future hurricanes. The land where the new building was to be constructed belonged to the government of Puerto Rico. However, building a cement block structure would be too expensive, far beyond the financial contributions that the project could receive. Therefore, a mortgage was needed for the project. But to have a mortgage on the land, the land could not belong to the government, instead it had to belong to the school. Since the government was constitionally prohibited from donating the land to a church, a group of parishioners came together to form a non-profit association that would build and administer the school. After lobbying the legislature, the association bought the land from the government for $1 with the condition that this association build and run the school. The association obtained the necessary funds with personal financial guarantess from its members.The Academia del Sagrado Corazón was inscribed in August 1928 in front of a notary as a private and Catholic educational institution. In August 1929 it opened its doors in a building adjacent to the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart Church). The Reverend Padre Ignacio de Dios García who founded the Academia was also the pastor for the church.

Tags : #Education, #CatholicChurch