Saint Xavier University (or SXU) is a private Roman Catholic university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1846 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university enrolls 3,749 students. History Saint Xavier University was founded as a women's college by the Sisters of Mercy in 1846 at the request of Bishop William Quarter. With the City of Chicago less than 10 years old, the religious sisters, under the guidance of Mother Mary Francis Xavier Warde, R.S.M., established Saint Francis Xavier Female Academy. The Academy, which would later become Saint Xavier College, and finally Saint Xavier University, was the first Mercy College in the world and is the oldest chartered college in the city of Chicago. In the year 1846, five sisters of Mercy were sent to the city of Chicago from Pittsburgh to start Catholic work in the new city. The original campus (then referred to as an academy), soon gains, in 1947, the state charter which allowed for the granting on degrees from the academy. After this location (Wabash Avenue between Madison and Monroe in downtown Chicago) was burned down in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the campus was rebuilt on the southern boundary of Chicago. In 1915 the sisters of mercy's hard work to open a college women becomes reality when the school becomes an official college, teaching "all branches of higher learning" Academics Saint Xavier University offers undergraduate majors and graduate programs through their three schools: The College of Arts and Sciences The Graham School of Management The School of Nursing and Health Sciences (a recognized Center of Excellence by the National League for Nursing) Saint Xavier University has one of the most diverse undergraduate student bodies in Chicago and is a federally-designated Hispanic-serving institution. Campuses Chicago Saint Xavier's main campus is located in City of Chicago in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood on the corner of 103rd Street and Central Park Avenue. It is in close proximity to the suburb of Evergreen Park, Illinois. The university's main campus is made up of several buildings, including the Warde Academic Center, which is the oldest building on campus and houses administrative offices and the library; the Shannon Center; McDonough Chapel, a small Catholic chapel; the Graham School of Management Building; Andrew Conference Center and Driehaus Center. Within a mile of the main campus are the Visual Arts Center and O'Grady Center, which houses the departments of University Relations and University