In the autumn of 1946, with the dark days of World War II behind them, a small group of twenty-five young men entered St. Francis High School. The late Fr. Stephen Murtaugh O.F.M.Cap. had purchased the grounds, once the Flintridge Country Club, with an eye to founding a minor seminary for aspirants to the Capuchin Franciscan Order. That the twenty-five students were there at all was thanks to the Archbishop of Los Angeles, The Most Reverend John H. Cantwell, who had requested that day students be admitted with the seminarians.

Today, more than a half-century later, St. Francis continues its tradition of enriching the minds and hearts of young men. That first small group of twenty-five has grown to more than 600 young men from the surrounding communities of the west San Gabriel Valley, and the school has developed apace in the challenging pursuit of high academic standards and individual spirituality through the sacredness of St. Francis' teachings. St. Francis High School remains steadfastly committed to the development of the whole person.