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The Regiopolis College was an all-male college incorporated in 1837 to educate and prepare men for priesthood. Although first founded by Bishop Alexander MacDonnell in 1837, the building was not erected until 1839 in Kingston. The Jesuits became involved in teaching a decade after its establishment, but only briefly, until the bilingual Brothers of the Christian Schools were invited to come and take over in 1853. In 1866 the college was officially granted a university charter to offer degrees to its students, but had to close in 1869 due to financial difficulties, and the building was acquired by the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph in 1892. Regiopolis reopened on King Street in 1896 as a high school and moved to a new building on Russell Street, in the northern part of the city, in 1914. Its administration was transferred to the Jesuit Vice-Province of Upper Canada in 1931, when Jesuit Provincial William H. Hingston agreed to officially direct and staff the college.
In 1933, Hingston purchased over 300 acres on Princess Street to expand the college’s campus and facilities. His plans included separated residences for 3,000 women and 3,000 men, student buildings, sports facilities, lecture buildings, offices, and more. Numerous architectural plans were drawn for the expansion; however, Hingston’s plans were consistently opposed by the English-speaking Jesuits. Hingston was terminated from his role as Provincial Superior in 1934, shattering his educational plans and his dream of creating an independent Catholic university in Kingston.
An Arts course began in 1938, and Dean Erle G. Bartlett, S.J. was tasked with introducing a Bachelor of Arts programme. This never fully panned out, and only six degrees were ever granted to students. Attempts were made to revive the university charter in 1950 and 1957 but were again unsuccessful. In 1967, Regiopolis College merged with Notre Dame Convent, a school for girls run by the Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, to form the Regiopolis-Notre Dame High School. The Jesuits finally left Regiopolis College in 1971.
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Created in 2024 by N. Fisher, C. Edwards, M. Huybers, H. Deskin, M. McMichael as part of a course at McGill's School of Information Studies. Revised by P. Prost, Archivist, 2025-02-07.
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Sources
Fay, Terence J. (1991). The Jesuits and the Catholic University of Canada at Kingston. CCHA Historical Studies, 58, 57-77
Gavin, J. B. (2015). Teachers of a Nation: Jesuits in English Canada 1842-2013. Novalis Publishing.
Notre Dame Convent / Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic High School. Faith in Action. Centuries of Education by Marguerite Bourgeoys and the Congrégation Notre-Dame. https://archivesvirtuelles-cnd.org/en/school-album/notre-dame-convent-regiopolis-notre-dame-catholic-high-school