Bethlehem Catholic High School, more commonly referred to as ****Becahi or just Beca, is a parochial high school located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The school is within the Diocese of Allentown and is located at 2133 Madison Avenue in Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. As of 2020-21, the school had 678 students, according to National Center for Education Statistics data.

History

The Bethlehem Catholic High School first opened its doors in the Spring of 1926. Prior to this in 1925 Cardinal Dennis Dougherty and then Superintendent of the Schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Hugh Lamb recognized the need for a dedicated Catholic high-school in South Bethlehem due to the large amount of Catholic emigration to the region. Holy Infancy Parish located on 4th Street was the initial school building, with their pastor Charles Bowles, being named the first superintendent. Bowles was able to raise $50,537 within a month, allowing for a formal dedication on August 24, 1926. By the end of the year the school was accredited to offer a full four year education. By 1927 the school published the first edition of its yearbook the Brown and Gold with most students being the first in their families to attend four years of high-school. Since the school opened it was staffed with Sisters of St. Joseph, and by 1934, through a competition in a local newspaper, the nickname BecaHi was adopted. In February of 1961, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was subdivided with Bethlehem falling in the new Diocese of Allentown. One of the first acts by the diocese's first Bishop, Joseph McShea, was to expand BecaHi, authorizing the construction of a new, larger, school on the north side of Bethlehem on Dewberry Road, which opened its doors in 1964, with classes being split between the two schools until 1969 when the south side campus was turned into the Holy Infancy Elementary School. BecaHi would become a co-educational in 1971. Prior to this, the school was split into a "boys wing" and a "girls wing." In 1973 the school hired its first lay principal, Richard Culver.

Athletics

Bethlehem Catholic High School competes athletically in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (EPC) in the District XI division of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, one of the premier high school athletic divisions in the nation. Home athletic events are held on the campus of Bethlehem Catholic High School while football games are played at the 14,000 capacity Frank Banko Field at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium, one of Pennsylvania's largest high school stadiums.

State championships

Boys basketball Girls basketball Football: Pennsylvania state champions, first two-time champion in PIAA football championship history. Softball Track and Field Boys volleyball Girls volleyball Wrestling: Individual championships Wrestling: Team championships

Notable alumni

Notable faculty