The School's team is the Holy Cross Knights and the school's athletic archrival is theSt. Francis Preparatory School Terriers. Since they are both located onFrancis Lewis Boulevard approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) apart, when they play each other the game is called the Battle of the Boulevard.[3]
The proposal for the first all-boys Catholic high school in Queens was developed at theUniversity of Notre Dame in the early 1940s by Msgr.Edmund Reilly, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church (Flatlands) and Rev. Frederick Schulte, CSC. TheBrothers of Holy Cross were invited to come and work at the Boys' Department of St. Thomas Aquinas in 1944 and St. Francis of Assisi in 1947. Shortly afterwards, the Brothers were invited to establish a high school in Queens. In September 1955, Holy Cross High School opened despite the school building being unfinished. Shortly afterwards with the support of parents and other involved parties, the Brothers of the Holy Cross assumed operational control of the school. The mission of the school is to educate young people within the traditions ofCatholicism and to prepare them for life after graduating. In 2017, the school announced its intention to become co-educational and admit girls for the first time. The school became co-ed starting in fall 2018.[4] Other schools in the United States operated by the Congregation of Holy Cross had already been going co-educational in prior years.[5] In 2025, the school was expanded for the first time in its history with the construction of the new Arts, Technology, and Athletics Center. The additional building is expected to open in 2026.[6]
Holy Cross is a college preparatory school with four levels of college preparatory courses. The school offers the Blessed Father Basil Moreau Honors Program and the Science Research Program. When the school was first opened, they had an industrial arts program which included a print shop which printed, among other things, the school newspaper "The Lance". This program was discontinued during the principalship of Brother Aubert Harrigan, C.S.C. in favor of expanding the mission and purpose of the school to be a college preparatory school. It was during the John McGovern tenure (75-81) that the governance structure of the school was changed from a completely religious (CSC) board of trustees to a two-pronged board structure consisting of an ownership (Congregation of Holy Cross) board working in collaboration with a lay board of Directors (Executive Committee) appointed by the ownership group. It was during the McGovern tenure that the school reached its highest enrollment (1400+). For many years McGovern promoted this structure annually at the convention of the National Catholic Educational Association where he also served in later years as National Public Policy Research Associate.[7]
Holy Cross offers intellectual pursuits such as Campus Ministry. The Holy Cross Brothers still staff the school in various capacities; however as a result of governance changes instituted during the McGovern tenure in collaboration with provincial leadership, the school is operating under a "sponsorship" model with the Brothers of Holy Cross constituting the ownership board and a local Board of Directors constituting the management board. The religious philosophy is based on the mission of The Brothers of Holy Cross which were founded inLe Mans, France in 1835.[8]
Kyle O'Quinn, American basketball player for Sichuan Jinqiang Blue Whales, transferred after sophomore year. (Class of 2008)[15][16]
Mike Riordan, former basketball player for theNew York Knicks and Baltimore/Capitol/Washington Bullets of the NBA; 1970 NBA Championship (NY Knicks); 1972–73 NBA All Defensive 2nd Team (Class of 1964)[17]
