Catholic Education Returns to Hartford

Catholic Academy of Hartford to open in fall of 2026.

Story by Shelley Wolf

Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne is fulfilling his promise on May 1, 2024 – his first day in office – to bring Catholic education back to the city of Hartford after a ten-year absence.

The city of Hartford has not had a Catholic school operating within its borders since St. Augustine School closed at the end of the 2015-2016 school year.

To end that drought, Archbishop Coyne announced during a press conference on Oct. 9 that the Archdiocese of Hartford has purchased a building on Asylum Avenue in Hartford, which it plans to open next fall as the Catholic Academy of Hartford.

“I simply could not accept that our state capital, and the geographic and spiritual center of our archdiocese, did not have a school to form our young people,” Archbishop Coyne said.

For its opening year, the Catholic Academy of Hartford will initially welcome Hartford students in pre-kindergarten through the second grade. The longer-term plan for the new school is to add one grade each year, expanding up to the eighth grade.

“Within the walls you see behind me, future leaders and contributors will be formed – mind, body and spirit. With a quality, affordable education, their potential will prove limitless,” the archbishop said.

The sale of the property, a former three-story office building at 765 Asylum Ave., was completed in September. The building is located behind the Cathedral of St. Joseph.

With the goal of beginning classes in the fall of 2026, the Archdiocese of Hartford plans to renovate the property, creating classrooms on the upper floors and a multi-purpose room in the basement. New exterior signage and a cross have already been erected.

“The opening of this school is representative of renewal, revival and a great reversal of the downward trends we experienced before and during COVID,” Archbishop Coyne noted.

“Mass attendance is up, the number of men and women discerning vocations to the priesthood and religious life is up, and most important to today’s announcement, Catholic school enrollment is up,” he reported. In fact, the archbishop said, most archdiocesan schools have waiting lists.

“With the wind in our sails,” Archbishop Coyne said, “the timing was right for the Archdiocese of Hartford to make a generational contribution to the city of Hartford for the education of its children.”

During the press conference, Valerie Mara, superintendent of Catholic schools for the archdiocese, reiterated the archbishop’s commitment to restoring Catholic education in Hartford through a “just tuition model” in which Hartford families would pay on a sliding scale, according to their ability to pay.

The hope is to extend the opportunity for a Catholic education to all families in the city at all income levels.

The school intends to serve Hartford residents first, Mara noted, regardless of their faith tradition or creed. “Our doors are open to any family that wants a Catholic education,” she said.

Development initiatives and fundraising events for the Catholic Academy of Hartford are now underway. “I welcome with open arms civic leaders, benefactors and changemakers of any stripe who wish to be a part of this exciting endeavor,” Archbishop Coyne said.

To learn more about enrolling students, applying for aid, donating or applying for jobs, visit catholicacademyofhartford.org.