The Mission of St. Augustine at Manchester was founded in 1881 from Fall River. Monsignor Healy, Bishop of the diocese and Father Augustine Chevalier, the parish priest asked the Religious of Jesus and Mary to establish a school. In response to this request, four sisters began the apostolate in New Hampshire. Because there was no building for a school, they began the daunting task of educating 400 students in the church.
In 1889, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart assumed responsibility for the boys and in 1903, the girls’ school was transferred to another building with a beautiful chapel attached.
In 1907, the Religious of Jesus and Mary acquired a farm, a picturesque site near Goffstown. Over a period of 15 years, the farm became a magnificent estate where in 1918, a large boarding school, named Villa Augustina was opened. Later the convent at Manchester was closed and the community was transferred to Goffstown.
When the Religious of Jesus and Mary could no longer sustain the apostolate, the school was transferred to a lay board that continued to educate students in the charism of Claudine.