In that year the Catholic Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles opened a boys' orphanage in the Pajaro Valley, on the outskirts of the farming community of Watsonville.

Originally Saint Francis School and the Immaculate Conception Orphanage were set off on the northern side Hecker Pass Road and overlooked excellent farm land.

As farm families looked to St Francis as the local spiritual center (the parish church was several miles away), the Franciscan friars opened the school chapel for Sunday Services and daily Masses.

The Franciscan friars remained at Saint Francis School through the remainder of the 19th century, enlarging the plant, developing the farm, and serving hundreds of needy boys.

Students, teachers, staff members, and administrators commuted to Holy Cross Parish Hall for classes, while construction was underway on the new classrooms being built at the Watsonville site.