Name/Title
Plate, CommemorativeEntry/Object ID
2008.001.0001Description
Commemorative plate with black and white image of St. Catherine's Academy on it. Below image is written "Saint Catherine's Academy Benicia, California Established Here -- 1854"
On the reverse side is printed "Saint Catherine's Academy: In 1850, Mother Mary Goemaere left Paris, France for the old Spanish town of Monterey, California, where, in 1851, she founded Santa Catalina, the state's first school for girls. First to enter the Religious Life at the new Dominican Convent was Concepcion Arguello, a native-born Californian who became Sister Mary Dominica. In response to Archbishop Joseph Alemany's invitation, Mother Mary Gomere moved the school to Benicia in 1854. There, the English name, Saint Catherine's Academy was adopted. In 1857, Sister Mary Dominica passed away. The story of her youthful, tragic romance with the Russian Count, Nikolai Rezanov, is now famous in California literature. The 'Convent' today (1958) is a modern, Catholic boarding school for both boys and girls in elementary grades, directed by the Dominican Sisters of the Holy Name Province."Collection
Benicia School Collection
