Named after St. Thomas Aquinas (1226 - 1274), priest and doctor of the Church, patron of all universities and of students. At age 17, St. Thomas renounced the things of this world and became a Dominican friar. Aquinas studied at Cologne under the St. Albert the Great. Here he was nicknamed the "dumb ox" because of his silent ways and huge size, but he was a brilliant student. Aquinas was a brilliant writer and teacher and one of the greatest and most influential theologians of all time.  He was canonized in 1323 and was declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V.  His feast day is January 28.
House Color:  Light Blue
House Motto:  Doctrina…Veritas…Fides…Vis  (Learning…Truth…Faith…Strength)

Named after Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), an Italian poet from Florence. He was known for his stilnovo poetry—poetry about the purity of love. His central work, the Commedia Divina (The Divine Comedy), is considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. He was banished from his beloved hometown in 1301 and went into exile in Verona, where he settled to write the Divine Comedy. It went on to become one of the most famous pieces of religious poetry, earning popularity both immediate and lasting while defining modern and archaic views of the Catholic afterlife. He passed away September 14, 1321.
House Color:  Orange
House Motto:  Poca Favilla Gran Fiamma Seconda (A Great Flame Follows A Tiny Spark)

Named after St. Maria Goretti (1890-1902), the patron Saint of youth, young women, purity, and victims of rape.   Born in Corinaldo, Ancona, Italy. In 1902 an 18-year-old neighbor, Alexander, grabbed her from her steps and tried to rape her. When Maria said that she would rather die than submit, Alexander began stabbing her with a knife.  As she lay in the hospital, she forgave Alexander before she died. Her death didn't end her forgiveness, however. Alexander was captured and sentenced to thirty years. He was unrepentant until he had a dream that he was in a garden. Maria was there and gave him flowers. When he woke, he was a changed man, repenting of his crime and living a reformed life. When he was released after 27 years, he went directly to Maria's mother to beg her forgiveness, which she gave. "If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness," she said. Maria was declared a saint in 1950 and her attacker Alexander was there to celebrate her canonization. Her feast day is July 6.
House Color: Maroon
House Motto:  Puritas, Fides et Misericordia (Purity, Faith and Forgiveness)​

Named after Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941), a Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the German death camp of Auschwitz, located in German occupied Poland during World War II.  One night in Kolbe’s childhood, Our Lady appeared to him in a dream holding a white crown and a red crown. He later related, “She asked if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both." He was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and canonized by his fellow Pole, Pope John Paul II in 1982. His feast day is August 14.
House Color:  Green
House Motto:  Elegit Ambos (He Chose Both)

Named after St. Jean Baptiste LaSalle (1651-1719), a French Priest who dedicated more than 40 years to the education of poor children. He began as the spiritual director of a poor girl's school and later helped to start a poor boy's school. He then founded the first school dedicated to teachers as well as numerous high schools. His feast day is April 7.
House Color: Red
House Motto: INCITATOR A DEI CARITATE (Be Driven by the Love of God)

Named after Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774 – 1821), the first American-born female saint. Raised in a Protestant family, she and her sister-in-law performed charitable works which garnered them the name of the “Protestant Sisters of Charity.” After her husband took ill, she accompanied him on a voyage in an effort to improve his health. They spent time in Italy, where William passed away; however, it was during her time in Italy that Elizabeth gained a great appreciation for the Catholic Church. Elizabeth was baptized into the Church in 1805.  She began her career in religious education in 1808 in Baltimore where she opened a school for underprivileged children. The next year, she established the Sisters of Charity of which she served as the mother superior for many years as Catholic education spread across the United States. In 1814, Mother Seton and the Sisters of Charity began operating the nation’s first Catholic orphanage in Philadelphia. Seton was beatified in 1963, and Pope John Paul II canonized her on September 14, 1975.
House Color:  Gray
House Motto:  Live simply that others may simply live.

Named after Saint John Vianney (1786 - 1859), the Patron Saint of Priests. His feast day is August 4.  Renowned as a confessor, Saint Vianney would listen to confessions for up to 16 hours a day.  He was recognized as a wonderful director of souls and besieged by trials throughout his life but kept providing love and charitable works.  His feast day is August 4.
House Color:  Navy Blue
House Motto:   Fortitudine Vincimus (By endurance we conquer)

Named after St. Francis Xavier (1506 - 1552) who was born in the family castle in Spain. He became one of the seven founders of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) with St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1534. He did extensive missionary work in south Asia and the Far East and is the patron saint of Catholic missionaries. His feast day is celebrated on December 3.
House Color:  Purple
House Motto:  Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the Greater Glory of God)