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Five Minutes of Baltimore History

St Frances Academy

By Johns Hopkins,
Lisa Morgan
Published February 24, 2026 at 3:26 PM EST
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two views of St Frances Academy, the oldest predominately African-American Catholic school in the country.
photo credit: Baltimore Heritage
two views of St Frances Academy, the oldest predominately African-American Catholic school in the country.

Started in 1828, St. Frances Academy is the oldest predominantly African American Catholic high school in the country. The incredible woman who started it, Mother Mary Lange, is currently up for sainthood in the Catholic Church.

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Five Minutes of Baltimore History African American Historycatholic schoolsEducationBaltimore History
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins has been the director of Baltimore Heritage since 2003, working to preserve historic places and revitalize historic neighborhood in Baltimore.
See stories by Johns Hopkins
Lisa Morgan
Lisa Morgan covered the local arts community as co-creator and host of WYPR’s award-winning program The Signal from 2004 to 2015. She has created and produced many programs for WYPR, including news stories, features, commentaries, and audio documentaries. She taught audio production at Goucher College and has done voice-over work for a variety of clients. The Weekly Reader is her latest project.
See stories by Lisa Morgan