SFS Traditions
- Alma Mater
- Why is our mascot the 'Knights'?
- Cornerstone Senior Lounge
- the knight way
- Junior Class Rings
- Senior Steps
- V+J
Alma Mater
Why is our mascot the 'Knights'?
An excerpt from Guiding Boys on the Journey to Knighthood
By Ronald Olszewski, OSFS, Ph.D.
The Knight is the mascot that was chosen for our student body when the school began more than a half century ago. Paul Adamski was a freshman student in 1955-56. He wrote the winning essay in the contest to choose a mascot for the newly opened school.
I think the 'Knights' would be a good nickname for our school because a knight was known to have been a man of great honor and integrity. A knight was a brave, fearless man who would give up his life for god or his country if necessary. I think the boys of St. Francis de Sales will feel the same way. A knight was a gentleman as well as a fighter. He was always well dressed as the boys of St. Francis are. The knight gave us many examples of courage, dignity and loyalty to his superiors and his country. The boys should take theses examples to heart and because true 'Knights of St. Francis de Sales'.Paul Adamski '59
The knight is a fitting image as I write about boys becoming Christian Gentlemen. Brad Miner notes in his book The Compleat Gentleman, that the core concept of the modern day gentleman is rooted in the code of chivalry of the Medieval Knight. Richard Hawley in his book titled Boys Will be Men, wrote that every boy, "Longs to be a Knight, a questing, adventuring, fully realized man." The patron of our high school and my religious congregation is St. Francis de Sales, known in the Roman Catholic Church as the Gentleman Saint.
And so, I believe the journey from being a boy to becoming a true man, a gentleman, a Christian Gentleman, is the journey to becoming a true Knight. The Knight is a warrior, a man of strength and gentleness, a man of honor and virtue.
Cornerstone Senior Lounge
The Cornerstone of the school building was laid in May 1955 by the Very Reverend William Buckley, OSFS. The first shovel of dirt was turned by Reverend William Stahl at the groundbreaking on October 3, 1954. The need was clear for this yet-to-be-named school for boys in Toledo. The overcrowding problem at Central Catholic High School needed to be addressed. With Bishop George Rehring's sanction, the Oblates began to meet with friends about the possibility of a boy's school in early 1954. While other names for the school were considered including Boys Catholic High School, Father Louis Brisson High School, and Bishop George J. Rehring High School and other locations explored, including Parkside and Nebraska, Ilger Road on the St. Pius X campus, and Secor and Central (Westgate), officials agreed upon the name of St. Francis de Sales High School on the corner of Bancroft and Parkside.
Decades and generations later, St. Francis de Sales School remains true to its original mission to educate young men in the spirit of our patron, St. Francis de Sales. Our school has indeed benefited greatly from those who came before us. This room is dedicated to the men and women who are the original founders and laid the cornerstone of something very special, providing opportunities for thousands of young men who are here to learn today and lead tomorrow.
The spirit of St. Francis de Sales is love. We pledge to give the future generations of Toledo men from this school who will be outstanding citizens, Catholics, and Americans...the Oblates will produce generations of loyal sons worthy of St. Francis de Sales."
-VERY REVEREND WILLIAM BUCKLEY, OSFS
Groundbreaking Ceremony - October 3, 1954
the knight way
Junior Class Rings
Senior Steps
This stairway is open to all except St. Francis de Sales underclassmen, who earn use of these steps upon matriculation to senior year. A sacrosanct tradition for generations, these steps represent the discipline achieved by a St. Francis senior. While legends detail the fates handed to students who dared violate this norm, true obedience to this tradition necessitates neither force nor fear – rather, all underclassmen should earnestly respect the role assumed by their senior brothers for their own benefit and that of the school. For nearly 50 years, the steps were the school’s main exterior entrance until they were removed and rebuilt using the exact same footprint during extensive renovations in 2004. Adorned with the original metal ornamentation, the current steps were rededicated on January 31, 2005 in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the School. This historical narrative is a gift of the Class of 2023 to all who share in this tradition.
