School History
Bishop Machebeuf High School was established in 1958 and is named after Bishop Joseph P. Machebeuf, the first bishop of Colorado.
The Early Days
Left: This photo depicts the early stages of construction of the school in 1957.
Below: Students are working in the library during the school's first year - 1958.
As early as 1942, Monsignor Harold Campbell contemplated the creation of a new Archdiocesan High School — Machebeuf High School . While serving as pastor of Blessed Sacrament, Monsignor Campbell secured the bulk of the land required to build the anticipated high school. Additional land was purchased in 1953, when it became increasingly clear that the school-age population in Denver was soaring.
Official announcement of the new school came in April 1956 and construction began in September 1957. The first freshman class was enrolled a year later. Archbishop Urban J. Vehr dedicated the new high school on September 27, 1959.
Machebeuf’s West Campus at 18th and Pennsylvania was added in 1987. Through the years, the dedicated faculty and administration have guided the spiritual, academic and athletic lives of its students. In 1985, the school became Machebeuf Catholic High School and in 1996 was renamed Bishop Machebeuf Catholic High School to clearly identify the school with Denver 's first bishop.
Move to Lowry
Honoring the past and looking to the future, more than 700 people gathered January 9, 2000 for the dedication Mass of the new $8.5 million Bishop Machebeuf High School on the Lowry campus in Denver. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput presided at the Mass and was joined by Father Rocco Porter, school chaplain, and Msgr. Walker Nickless, Vicar General and alum of the school.
In 2008, Machebeuf celebrated its 50th year of being an academic community of faith that strives to form the hearts, minds, and souls of our students in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the living tradition of the Catholic Church.
