Holy Spirit High School is a Roman Catholic preparatory school located in Absecon in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school operates under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Camden.Schools, South Jersey Catholic Schools. Accessed February 20, 2023. The school's motto is Caritas Omnia Vincit, which translates to "love conquers all"."Holy Spirit graduates told to love, to care", The Press of Atlantic City, June 5, 2013. Accessed March 10, 2025. "'It is not by coincidence that our school motto is 'caritas omnia vincit,' 'love conquers all.'”" The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1971;Holy Spirit High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 3, 2022. the school's accreditation status was extended for seven years in Fall 2018.MSA-CESS Fall 2018 Accreditation Actions, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools, Fall 2018. Accessed April 25, 2021.
As of the 2017–18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 391 students and 32.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.1:1. The school's student body was 78.0% (305) White, 6.4% (25) Asian, 5.6% (22) Black, 4.1% (16) Hispanic and 5.9% (23) two or more races.School data for Holy Spirit High School , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed September 1, 2020.
The school is under the limited governance of an independent Board of Trustees. The President/Principal serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the chief administrative officer.
History The school was founded in 1922 in Atlantic City and moved to Absecon in 1964.Welcome, Holy Spirit High School. Accessed April 13, 2021. "Holy Spirit High School opened her doors in 1922 on Massachusetts Avenue in Atlantic City, and in 2014 celebrated her 50th Anniversary in Absecon, New Jersey."
Athletics The Holy Spirit High School SpartansHoly Spirit High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the National Division of the Cape-Atlantic League, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties that operates under the aegis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 281 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools).NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the Continental Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceHoly Spirit Spartans, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component." and was classified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public Group B (equivalent to Group I/II for public schools) for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 140 to 686 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The boys track team won the Non-Public A spring / outdoor track state championship in 1947.NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
The football team won the Non-Public A South state sectional championships in 1974 (awarded by the NJSIAA), 1975, 1978, 1987, 1988 and 1990, won the Non-Public III title in 2007, 2008, and 2010, and the Non-Public Group II state title in 2011, 2012 and 2019.NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023. The 1987 football team won the Parochial A state title by defeating Notre Dame High School by a score of 15–8. The 2007 team finished the season with a record of 12-0 and won the Non-Public, Group III state sectional championship with a 26–13 win over Immaculata High School. The undefeated season and state championship were both firsts in team history.2007 Football - Non-Public, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 23, 2007.McGarry, Michael. "Defense leads Holy Spirit to first football state title" , The Press of Atlantic City, December 2, 2007. Accessed December 23, 2007. "It is the first state title in Holy Spirit football history. Spirit's victory ended Immaculata's 23-game winning streak. Spirit finishes 12-0 for the first time in school history." After scoring on the opening kickoff, the 2012 team went on to win the Non-Public III state title with a 30-6 win against Immaculata in the championship game to finish the season with an 8-4 record.McGarry, Michael. "Holy Spirit races past top-seeded Immaculata, 30-6, to win state Non-Public II title", The Press of Atlantic City, December 9, 2012, updated June 21, 2019. Accessed December 9, 2020. "Taalib Gerald of the Holy Spirit High School football team ran right by several Immaculata defenders on the opening kickoff Saturday night.... Spirit dominated and won its third straight state title, 30-6 over Immaculata in the state Non-Public II championship game at The College of New Jersey. The Spartans won the Non-Public III title in 2010 and have won the Non-Public II title in each of the last two years.... Second-seeded Spirit (8-4) showed quickly that its first touchdown wasn't a fluke." The 2019 team won the Non-Public Group II title with a 38-0 finals win against St. Joseph High School.McGarry, Mike. "Holy Spirit beats St. Joseph for 38-0 for state title", The Press of Atlantic City, December 9, 2019. Accessed October 8, 2020. "The Holy Spirit High School football team played for Bill Walsh on Sunday. More importantly, they played like him. The Spartans dominated their biggest rival on offense, defense and special teams to beat St. Joseph 38-0 to win the state Non-Public II championship at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium." Though only dating to 2000, NJ.com ranked the "Holy War" rivalry between Holy Spirit and St. Joseph 11th on its list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football", with St. Joseph winning 12 of the 18 games played through 2017.Stypulkoski, Matt. "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football" , NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 27, 2017, updated May 15, 2019. Accessed December 1, 2020. "11-Holy Spirit vs. St. Joseph (Hamm.) This matchup is relatively recent as it started in 2000 but as both teams became contenders in their respective statewide groups over the past 10-15 years this became a must-see game dubbed the Holy War..... All-time series: St. Joseph (Hamm.) leads, 12-6."
In the 1970s through the late 1980s, Holy Spirit made a name for itself in boys' rowing, winning several national championships and competing several times at the Henley Regatta on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England.Wilkins, Joseph T. A Short History of the Brigantine Rowing Club . Accessed July 17, 2007. This rowing success led to an entry in The Official Preppy Handbook in 1980. The boys' rowing team has competed for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley six times 1970, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1982, and 2003. The team won in 1974, 1976, and 1981; in addition to finishing second twice, in a race in which the winner is widely considered to be the best youth crew in the world. Holy Spirit's three titles is tied with St. Paul's School for the most by any American high school.Results of Final Races - 1946-2003 , Henley Royal Regatta. Accessed July 10, 2011.US/HRR-US frame.htm U.S. Winners, Henley Royal Regatta. Accessed July 10, 2011. Coach Stan Bergman led the team to all three Henley victories.
The girls eight-person rowing team won the Peabody Cup at the 2003 Henley Women's Regatta, defeating the Kingston School of England. Their coach, Joseph Welsh Jr., was a member of the boys team at Holy Spirit when it won a similar championship at Henley in 1976.Strauss, Robert. "Worth Noting; Sailing, Sailing, To a Girls' Championship", The New York Times, June 29, 2003. Accessed July 10, 2020. "Last Sunday, the girls varsity rowing team from Holy Spirit High School, in Absecon, won the Peabody Cup, the top prize in the school/junior category in the Henley Women's Regatta at Henley-on-Thames, England. Though not officially so, the regatta is considered the world championships of rowing, and the Peabody Cup thus gives the Holy Spirit Panthers bragging rights as the best high school eight-person rowing team in the world." The girls eight-person rowing team repeated the win of the Peabody Cup at the 2004 Henley Women's Regatta; this time defeating a fellow US team, St. Andrew's School of Delaware.Staff. "Holy Spirit Rows to a Repeat", The Press of Atlantic City, June 21, 2004. Accessed August 8, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "The Holy Spirit High School girls varsity-eight crew celebrates repeating as Peabody Cup champion at the Henley Women's Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England, on Sunday." The girl's four-person sweeping boat rowing team placed second in the National Scholastic Rowing Championship in 2019.
The baseball team won the Non-Public A state championship in 1980 (defeating runner-up Don Bosco Preparatory High School in the finals of the tournament) and 1982 (vs. Essex Catholic High School), and won the Non-Public B title in 2015 (vs. Newark Academy) and 2021 (vs. Morristown–Beard School).Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. Down 4-0 in the first inning in the championship game at Mercer County Park, the 1982 team came back to tie the score and win the Parochial A state title with a 7-4 win against Essex Catholic."Spartans rally to win title", Courier-Post, June 1, 1982. Accessed February 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Bill Catalano singled home Matt McCabe in the eighth inning and Holy Spirit High School went on to defeat Essex Catholic, 7-4, for the State Parochial A baseball championship Sunday at Mercer County Park. Holy Spirit, which fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, had forced the game into extra innings with a run in the sixth." The team finished the 2015 season with a 14–16 record, winning the Non-Public B South Jersey final by a score of 7–1 against Marist High School and then won the Non-Public B state championship for the first time in 33 seasons with a 9–4 win against Newark Academy in the playoff finals.McGarry, Michael. "Holy Spirit baseball wins first state title in 33 years", The Press of Atlantic City, June 6, 2015. Accessed May 26, 2016. "The Spartans capped their memorable playoff run by beating Newark Academy 9-4 to win the state Non-Public B title at Toms River North on Saturday afternoon.... The win gave Spirit its first state baseball title since 1982."
The field hockey team won the Parochial A South state sectional championships in 1982.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.