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Xavier Prep inherits a tradition of high quality Catholic education from its foundress, St. Katharine Drexel, and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.  This tradition flows from the religious and lay persons who have devoted themselves to the education of youth. The school bases its philosophy on the belief that the total educational program nurtures and challenges the students, each of whom has unique gifts and talents. The focus of the programs is the development of Christian girls  through a harmonious blending of their spiritual, moral, intellectual, emotional and physical strengths. The school cultivates individual self-esteem and encourages students to improve their local and global communities. Preparing students to live with compassion, dignity and responsibility in a constantly evolving world is the school's ultimate purpose. This includes preparation for a variety of post-secondary options. A strong discipline program, a challenging curriculum; varied co-curricular activities and a community service program provide an integrated means for fulfilling this mission.
Saint Katharine Drexel This is a brief history of the life of Saint Katharine Drexel. It is a duplicate of the history that appears on the web site of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. www.katharinedrexel.org
Religious (Feast Day-March 3) Born in 1858, into a prominent Philadelphia family, Katharine became imbued with love for God and neighbor. She took an avid interest in the material and spiritual well-being of black and native Americans.  She began by donating money but soon concluded that more was needed - the lacking ingredient was people. Katharine founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, whose members would work for the betterment of those they were called to serve. From the age of 33 until her death in 1955, she dedicated her life and a fortune of 20 million dollars to this work. In 1894, Mother Drexel took part in opening the first mission school for Indians, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Other schools quickly followed - for Native Americans west of the Mississippi River, and for the blacks in the southern part of the United States. In 1915 she also founded Xavier University Preparatory in New Orleans. At her death there were more than 500 Sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the country. Katharine was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 2003.
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