Wilmington to welcome first Catholic High School in a century

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington could soon see its first catholic high school in more than a century. 

The Father Thomas F. Price Catholic High School is set to open in the fall of this year as part of a partnership between St. Mary’s and St. Mark’s Catholic Schools. Both schools already teach pre-K through 8th grade. 

“Music room, science lab, library, we have all that in place already,” St. Mary Catholic School Principal Joesph Poletti noted. 

Mark Ihnat with the Committee to Build Father F. Price Catholic High School said the school will open in phases. 

“The first phase will be the initial school, and our intention is to grow year over year by grade,” Ihnat explained. 

The school is named after the first Wilmington native to be ordained as a Catholic priest in 1886—three years before St. Mary’s Catholic School opened. 

Father Price would later found the Maryknoll Society, which continues to operate Catholic missions worldwide today. 

“It felt like a very natural fit from a naming perspective from our high school,” Ihnat said. 

Poletti said 9th and 10th graders will be the first grades in the inaugural class this fall, with initial classes being held on first floor of the Tileston Center on St. Mary’s campus. 

“The parents are very excited about it throughout the community,” Poletti said. 

Ihnat added the school also has big plans for expansion in the future. 

“The eventual goal over perhaps the next perhaps eight to 12, 15 years, is to build a fully functioning, independent, 40-acre catholic high school campus,” Ihnat said. 

Applications for perspective students are already open, and the application fee is free for the next month.  

You can apply or learn more here.