Giving
Engagement Societies
Tolton Society

Tolton Society Membership

The newly named Tolton Endowment, created in 2001 by Arthur Reliford, Sr. ’72, helps the school maintain a diverse student body of the brightest minds throughout greater Chicagoland. Reverend Augustus Tolton, the first African American slave to be ordained a Catholic priest, paid a “short visit” to the Jesuits as he was beginning his public ministry. Tolton’s education in Rome where he was ordained in 1886 marked him as a rising star among clergymen in the United States. But the hostility he faced from priests in Quincy, Illinois prompted him to look north to Chicago where Arnold Damen, S.J., had founded Holy Family parish and St. Ignatius College. Tolton quickly discovered that the city did indeed offer “a larger and more progressive field” as he began raising funds for St. Monica Church at 36th and Dearborn on the South Side. Various events are hosted throughout the year including the Summer Soirée and a speaking event in the spring. The fund currently stands at over $1,000,000. The Endowment has grown exponentially over the past 10 years. As a result, it impacts our annual tuition assistance efforts that total over $4 million annually.

Saint Ignatius College Prep

Saint Ignatius College Prep, a Jesuit Catholic school in the heart of Chicago, is a diverse community dedicated to educating young men and women for lives of faith, love, service and leadership.