The Blessed Pius X High School opened in 1952 as a co-educational diocesan school serving students from Savannah's Black community. The Society of African Missions donated land for the school on property purchased by Father Ignatius Lissner. Its name changed to St. Pius X High School in 1955 after the canonization of Pope Pius X in 1954. St. Pius provided a Catholic education that had not previously been available for African-American high school students. After being accredited in 1969, it was closed shortly afterward by the Savannah Diocese as part of its integration plan. In 2013 the building became the public charter school Savannah Classical Academy. Notable alumni include Savannah's first African-American mayor, Floyd Adams, Jr., and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.