Benedictine monks came to Newark in 1857 to serve the German community of Saint Mary's parish. Seeing the need for a school to serve the growing working-class Catholic population in Newark, the monks opened Saint Benedict's College in 1868. The school at first combined a college-level curriculum with a preparatory curriculum. By 1917, the majority of students were coming for the college prep curriculum, and so the college curriculum was dropped, and the name of the school changed to "Saint Benedict's Preparatory School." Over the years, the school educated many of New Jersey's professional and religious leaders and became a powerhouse in high school sports. As each new immigrant group entered the city, they found a welcome at St. Benedict's, and the school continued to educate the sons and grandsons of alumni. By 1972, however, most of the school's alumni had moved away from Newark, and the school found itself surrounded by a mostly African-American population. These were not sons and grandsons of alumni, nor were they predominantly Catholic. As fewer alumni sent their sons to the Hive, the student population dwindled, and Saint Benedict's suspended operations in 1972. What followed was a year of reflection. Many of the monks followed the alumni to the suburbs. Those monks who remained recommitted themselves to the education of the city youth, and Saint Benedict's re-opened its doors in 1973. Today, the student population reflects the racial makeup of the city.