Benedictine High School, a private Catholic college preparatory high school on Cleveland’s east side, has been a mainstay in the community since 1927. The school was founded by the Benedictine monks of Cleveland to teach the sons of Slovak immigrants and quickly grew in enrollment and academic recognition. Today, the school remains rooted in the spirituality of St. Benedictine, empowering young men to achieve academic excellence and inspire a life of compassionate leadership and service.
As the school grew over the years, it relocated from its original location on East 51st Street and Superior Avenue to East 105th and Buckeye Road to its current site on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Situated on a sprawling campus that includes the beautiful St. Andrew Abbey, home to the Benedictine Order of Cleveland monks for nearly 100 years, and its well-maintained Bossu athletic field, the school stands proudly in Cleveland’s urban center.
When an old, dilapidated house abutting the campus ended up in the hands of mortgage financier Fannie Mae after multiple flips in ownership and, finally, foreclosure in 2020, the Land Bank acquired the property. After a thorough inspection deemed the structure unsafe and uninhabitable, Benedictine purchased the property, and the Land Bank demolished the building in late December 2022. Benedictine will reimburse the Land Bank for its demolition efforts.
“It has been a pleasure to partner with the Cuyahoga Land Bank on this acquisition,” says Benedictine President Ryan Rysner. As an anchor institution in the Buckeye neighborhood and on the east side of Cleveland, Benedictine High School and the Benedictine Order of Cleveland is very mindful of our footprint and how it can positively impact neighborhood vitality. As we work through our strategic planning, our priority is to add aesthetic and utilitarian value to that space. If it remains green space or is developed into a brick-and-mortar structure, it will be something that the Benedictine High School and the Buckeye community will be able to use and enjoy for years to come.”