On September 2, 1958, Sr. Mary Damian and Sr. Marie de Lourdes Ortagus (two sisters of St. Joseph) opened Immaculata Academy right next to Mercy Hospital. With three classrooms, they welcomed 153 young women teaching a foundation built on faith and resilience.
By the summer of 1961, Cuba’s communist regime expelled religious orders, driving 109 Christian Brothers into Miami.
ILS Public Relations Coordinator, Mrs. Cristina Brito, explained, “Monsignor Walsh at that time was welcoming during Pedro Pan children were arriving in the country. Supported by the Catholic Church here and in Cuba, they managed to evacuate thousands of Cuban children.”
“Many of the Operation Pedro Pan children had arrived in the U.S without their parents. Led by student founders like Eduardo and José Arellano they made a request to rebuild their school in Miami,” she explained.
Operation Pedro Pan, or Peter Pan in English, was the largest influx of unaccompanied minors–estimated at 14,000, into the U.S. It transpired because after the Cuban revolution of 1959, many Catholic parents feared that coup leader Fidel Castro, an avowed Communist aligned with the Soviet Union, would indoctrinate their children turning them away from not only their fervently held religious beliefs, but also from capitalism.
In less than six months, La Salle High School rose on the same land as Immaculata Academy. Opening September 11, 1961 it gave 260 young boys a second home.
“That building was built in three months. It was a plan modeled after Christopher Columbus High School,” explained Mrs. Brito.
The two institutions shared faculties while building a joint spirit, supported by traditions like the “Royal Palm” mascot and student led victories, including convincing the city to install the Bayshore Drive traffic light in 1966.
By 1969, the two schools formally united under Father Francis Lechiara becoming a single co-educational school. Over the decades, through shifting administrations, changing mascots to the Royal Lion, and recovery from natural disasters like Hurricanes Andrew and Wilma, the community’s bond only strengthened.
What began as three simple classrooms and a desperate leap of faith from exile grew into a lasting Miami landmark, proving that sanctuary isn’t just a place, it’s the history built together.
When the administration officially restored “Immaculata” to the name in 2008, it honored a fifty-year legacy.
Today, walking through campus, students are reminded daily of the courage of those who came before them. What began as three simple classrooms and a desperate leap of faith from exile grew into a lasting Miami landmark, proving that sanctuary isn’t just a place it’s a story of faith, unity, and resilience built together.
ILS’s story of history, faith, and resilience continues to inspire today.
To learn more about ILS’s history, click on this link: https://www.ilsroyals.com/ourhistory
