Every great story has a beginning. For Saint Joseph Academy, that story stretches back more than 375 years to October 15, 1650, when the first charter of the Congregation of St. Joseph was signed in Le Puy-en-Velay, France. What began as a small community of women devoted to serving others would eventually grow into an international mission rooted in one enduring belief: to unite all people with God and with one another through unifying love.

More than two centuries later, that mission crossed the Atlantic during a period of extraordinary change. As waves of European immigrants arrived in the United States throughout the nineteenth century, the Catholic population grew rapidly, creating an urgent need for schools, hospitals, and ministries to serve these expanding communities. The Sisters of St. Joseph answered that call despite profound challenges. They lived lives of remarkable simplicity, often with very few resources, while ministering in communities where anti-Catholic prejudice was widespread and opportunities for women were few.

Cleveland, Ohio fortunately, was one of those communities. Between 1870 and 1890, the city's population nearly tripled as thousands of Irish and German Catholic immigrants made Northeast Ohio their home. In 1872, at the request of Bishop Richard Gilmour, three Sisters of St. Joseph arrived in Painesville from Erie, Pennsylvania. Within just a few years, the community had grown so quickly that the Sisters relocated their motherhouse to Cleveland, laying the foundation for what would become generations of ministry throughout the Diocese.

Then, in 1890, Saint Joseph Academy was officially incorporated. What followed was the story of women who continually responded to the needs of their time. Under the visionary leadership of Mother Theresa Fitzmaurice, the Sisters purchased farmland on Rocky River Drive, built what is now Fitzmaurice Hall, and intentionally designed a campus that could evolve alongside a changing world. Through world wars, pandemics, economic hardship, population booms, educational expansion, Vatican II, and the changing needs of the Church and society, the Sisters never lost sight of their mission. They adapted, expanded their ministries, welcomed new generations of students, and remained steadfast in their commitment to education, justice, and serving the dear neighbor. 

That same spirit continues to define Saint Joseph Academy today. More than 135 years after our founding, the hopes of those first Sisters are alive in every student who walks our halls. Their legacy can be seen in every classroom, every championship, every performance, every service project, every lifelong friendship, and every Remarkable Woman who proudly calls Saint Joseph Academy home.