Sacred Heart High School is a Roman Catholic parochial school in the historic district of downtown Hattiesburg, Mississippi where it is mostly surrounded by Victorian-era homes and other churches. It is the only High School in the Northern Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi.Sacred Heart Catholic High School was officially detached from the elementary school on June 8, 2010 when the Hattiesburg City Council voted to accept a bid of $2.5 million for the city-owned property formerly known as First Baptist Church. The acquisition has ultimately added 40 classrooms to the school. Since the acquisition of the new building, the student population has expanded from just over 500 to over 700 students (K-12).BackgroundSacred Heart was founded in 1900 by the Sisters of Mercy.Sacred Heart Catholic School is one of the oldest existing schools in Hattiesburg. In October, 1900, Father Sylvester Greimel opened Sacred Heart Catholic School, the first Catholic school in the area, using the sacristy of the church and the rectory for classes. He was the first resident pastor at Sacred Heart Church. His sister, Miss Anne Greimel, was principal. Thirty-five students were enrolled.The Sisters of Mercy arrived in September 1902. A convent and school had been built for them on Walnut Street, next to the church. In 1908, the first class of seniors graduated from the school.The current Sacred Heart Church was built in 1927 and 1928. The current elementary building was built in 1951 and the convent which is now used for administrative offices and art room was built in 1959.The Class of 1966 were the last to graduate from Sacred Heart when the high school closed due to low enrollment. Until 2004, Sacred Heart only offered classes through the 8th grade.
