St. Mary's College
- Alternate uses, see St. Mary's College (disambiguation).
The college was founded in 1848 as an Indian mission. The school claims to be the site of the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River, though Catholic missions were well established in the Southwest by that time.
The 465-acre college became one of the most prominant United States sites for Catholic higher education but closed in 1968 with the decline of the Jesuit order, which had operated the school. In 1978 the Society of Saint Pius X purchased the property along with 12 major buildings including the old cathedral. The school is now incorporated in Kansas as The Society of Saint Pius X, Saint Mary's, Inc.
As of 2003, the Academy had enrollment of 750 students K-12 and the college had enrollment of 60 in a liberal arts curriculem. St. Mary's does not have a semenary program. St Mary's offers boarding for students in the 8th grade and higher.
Under the leadership of the SSPX, the college has become a leading center for education in traditional Catholic doctrines advanced by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
In 1995, federal investigators questioned three members of the college staff during the investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing, but developed no conclusive ties between the bombing conspiracy and St. Mary's employees. Witnesses alleged Tim McVeigh visited St. Mary's the Easter Sunday before the bombing.