Nerinx Hall

Nerinx Hall is a private, Catholic, college-preparatory high school, founded on the belief that educated, caring, and empowered young women are essential to our world. Our name is a tribute to Reverend Charles Nerinckx, a missionary priest from Belgium who worked on the Kentucky frontier. There, he met three young women, Mary Rhodes, Ann Havern and Christina Stuart, who had established a school for the children of pioneer families. They asked Father Nerinckx to assist them to form a new religious community, one of the first in the United States dedicated to faithful education.

Today, Nerinx Hall continues to dedicate itself to this mission, by educating young women in the Catholic tradition to think critically and to act deliberately, so that they can make a difference in the world. As a Catholic college-preparatory high school for young women, founded by the Sisters of Loretto, Nerinx Hall is grounded in the belief that educated, caring, empowered young women are essential to our world. Thus, we have three primary goals. We strive to help each young woman know herself and her world. We offer her a loving community of faith that nurtures her individual gifts, enlivens her spirit, and reveals a diverse world where hope prevails. And we call each young woman to deliberate Christian action in her world.

We believe that knowledge of self develops as each student experiences her powers of reason, imagination, intuition, and physical skill, and as she grows in her relationship with God. We provide each student with experiences that will help her develop the self-assurance, flexibility, creativity, and balance needed to face her rapidly-changing world.

We believe that knowledge of the world must encompass science and technologies, arts and humanities, religion and cultures, and a historical perspective of humankind. We challenge our students to academic excellence in each of these areas, believing that excellence is best achieved when the student has developed these skills: the self-discipline to assimilate facts and master skills of learning; the confidence to analyze critically, speculate imaginatively and communicate intelligently; and the ability to engage in collaborative learning.

We believe with the Sisters of Loretto that diversity within a community is essential. Thus, we seek diversity in our faculty and our student body. We offer a curriculum that is open to the contributions of women and men, to diverse cultures and experiences. We challenge our faculty and student body to respect differences of opinion and to find strength in a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. We see Nerinx Hall as a community of learners, working together to develop their potential as persons.

As persons deeply rooted in a Judeo-Christian heritage, we share the profound belief that our God has created good, and that the goodness of each student grows best in an atmosphere of trust. Thus, we strive to create a community based on trust and rooted in the love of Christ – one that witnesses to patience and hope, that remains open to the spirit in each person, that values personal integrity, that works for cooperation more than competition, and that is able to laugh and to forgive. We hope that within this community each student will come to value herself and her world, and will choose to make lasting commitments to others and to a world which greatly needs her.

Exemplifying the pioneering spirit of the Loretto community and the Gospel call to mission, Nerinx Hall calls each young woman to responsible Christian leadership in the world. We challenge her to make a difference in her communities. We prepare her for action that results from deliberate choice, that responds to areas of deep human need, that challenges the dehumanizing aspects of her world, that increases awareness of environmental concerns, and that promotes a just peaceful society. In preparing her for action, we offer her opportunities to lead, to take risks, and to effect change within and through her school community. Nerinx Hall inspires each student to a life-long pursuit of knowledge, self-awareness, Christian community, self-expression, and committed action.

We believe education should be thought-provoking and inspiring.That’s why students’ opinions and viewpoints are valued and encouraged in every classroom and conversation, forming a supportive environment where students thrive daily.

The Nerinx Hall Service Learning Program carries on the Loretto tradition of pioneering women seeking areas of need in our world and working for justice by promoting the dignity of others. Each young woman is called to action that responds to areas of deep human need, challenges the dehumanizing aspects of her world, increases awareness of ecological concerns and promotes a just peaceful society.