National Directory / AL
Catholic high schools in Alabama
Alabama's seven Catholic high schools sit in two dioceses — the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama, which oversees the northern half of the state, and the Archdiocese of Mobile, which oversees the south. This directory covers all seven schools across six cities, with a best-of shortlist, city-by-city breakdowns, and honest admissions and HSPT guidance for the current cycle.
Families applying in Alabama can take the free HSPT practice test first, then use the city lists below to compare schools that actually require the exam.
Alabama families researching Catholic high schools make a metro-first decision: the state's seven NCES-listed Catholic schools serving high-school grades sit across six cities, from John Carroll and Cristo Rey Birmingham in the Birmingham metro to McGill-Toolen in Mobile, Montgomery Catholic Prep in the capital, St. John Paul II in Huntsville, Holy Spirit in Tuscaloosa, and St. Bernard Prep in Cullman. There is no statewide Catholic school system — the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and the Archdiocese of Mobile each run their own schools and admissions calendars — so the realistic choice set is almost always the one or two schools within commuting distance.
What separates one Alabama Catholic high school from another is rarely the basics. It is school size (from about 156 students at Cristo Rey Birmingham to 770 at Montgomery Catholic Prep), whether a school is a standalone 9-12 campus or a PK-12 system, the faith environment each diocese and school builds, and how tuition and aid actually work. One thing Alabama families won't find: single-gender Catholic high schools. All seven schools in this directory are coeducational. The best-of list below names the schools families most often shortlist, the city-by-city directory keeps every school visible, and the admissions and HSPT sections walk through how the process actually works.
Best Catholic high schools in Alabama
There is no official ranking of Alabama's Catholic high schools — Niche and US News publish their own lists that reshuffle every year, and AL.com's oft-cited "7 best Catholic high schools in Alabama" listicle dates to April 2016. What families actually compare is fit: where the school is, how big it is, what it offers academically and athletically, what the faith environment looks like, and what tuition and aid run. These are the schools our directory data and live search results show Alabama families shortlisting most, grouped by metro.
How we ranked these schools
- Location and commute — most Alabama families choose within their metro first; the groups below follow the state’s real regions (Birmingham, the Mobile-Montgomery corridor, and North Alabama).
- School size — enrollments in this directory run from about 156 students at Cristo Rey Birmingham to 770 at Montgomery Catholic Prep; smaller schools usually mean smaller classes and fewer course and athletic offerings.
- Academics and outcomes — AP and dual-credit offerings, arts, athletics, and college placement differ by school; ask each school for its own profile rather than relying on a single ranking.
- Faith environment — every Alabama Catholic high school sits in one of two dioceses (the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama or the Archdiocese of Mobile), and all seven are coeducational — there are no single-gender Catholic high schools in the state.
- Tuition and financial aid — tuition varies by school and most schools run aid; we link to each school’s admissions page rather than publishing figures we haven’t verified.
Birmingham
Birmingham families choose between two very different schools: John Carroll Catholic, the metro's larger long-established option, and Cristo Rey Birmingham, which runs the Cristo Rey corporate work-study model where students earn part of their tuition through paid internships.
Mobile and Montgomery
The Archdiocese of Mobile covers the southern half of Alabama, and its two high schools anchor the state's biggest enrollments: McGill-Toolen in Mobile and Montgomery Catholic Prep in the capital.
North Alabama
Across the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama's northern footprint, each city has one Catholic high school: St. John Paul II in Huntsville, Holy Spirit in Tuscaloosa, and St. Bernard Prep in Cullman.
No list can tell you which school fits your child. Use these as a starting shortlist, then compare on commute, size, academics, faith environment, and aid — the how-to-compare section below lays out the full framework.
Catholic high schools in Alabama at a glance
- Schools
- 7 serving high-school grades
- Cities
- 6 across Alabama
- Students listed
- 3,174 across 7 schools reporting enrollment
- Average enrollment
- 453 students among schools with published NCES enrollment
- Grade span
- 4 schools serve grades 9–12 only; 3 also span lower grades
- Verified HSPT guides
- 1
Looking for Catholic schools near you?
Most "near me" searches for Catholic schools are actually looking for K-8 options, and Google answers them with a local map pack — that's a job for the diocese finders, not a statewide high school list. If you're a high school family, the fastest route is your city's page below. If you're comparing elementary and middle school options, the diocese finders are the authoritative local source.
Find schools by city
Applying to a Catholic high school in Alabama?
Use the free diagnostic to establish an HSPT baseline before deciding how much preparation is necessary.
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Catholic high schools in Birmingham
Birmingham families choose between two very different coed schools in the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama: John Carroll Catholic High School, the metro's larger long-established option at about 540 students, and Cristo Rey Birmingham (formerly Holy Family Cristo Rey), which runs the corporate work-study model at about 156 students. Both are 9-12 schools, on opposite sides of the city.
Catholic high schools in Mobile
McGill-Toolen Catholic High School is Mobile's Catholic high school and the largest standalone 9-12 school in the state at about 750 students, sitting in the Archdiocese of Mobile. Families across the Gulf Coast and southern Alabama feed into it, and it is the region's only Catholic high school in this directory.
Catholic high schools in Montgomery
Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is the capital city's Catholic option and, at about 770 students, the largest Catholic school record in Alabama — a PK-12 system in the Archdiocese of Mobile where the high school is part of a single application. Families in Montgomery and the surrounding River Region typically apply there as the local Catholic choice.
Catholic high schools in Huntsville
St. John Paul II Catholic High School is Huntsville's Catholic high school — a coed 9-12 school of about 357 students on Old Madison Pike in the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. It is the only Catholic high school in the Huntsville metro, so families typically weigh it against the area's public and independent options.
Catholic high schools in Tuscaloosa
Holy Spirit Catholic School is Tuscaloosa's Catholic school, a PK-12 system of about 475 students in the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. It is the only Catholic school serving high-school grades in the city, and the high-school division is part of one application with the lower grades.
Catholic high schools in Cullman
St. Bernard Preparatory School sits in Cullman and is one of the state's distinctive options: a coed Catholic boarding school serving grades 7-12 with about 126 students, in the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama, and a member of the Association of Boarding Schools. Its website is not yet in our directory data, so confirm current admissions details directly with the school.
This directory mirrors NCES Private School Locator 2023-24 records, so the seven entries below reflect the data layer as it stands: Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School officially renamed itself Cristo Rey Birmingham and now publishes from cristoreybhm.org, and St. Bernard Preparatory School has no website in our data yet — confirm current admissions details with the school. Two entries (Montgomery Catholic and Holy Spirit) are PK-12 systems whose NCES enrollment totals include elementary and middle-school grades. For the complete set of Catholic schools in the state, including K-8 programs, use the diocese finders: bhmdiocese.org/schoolfinder (Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama) and mobarchschools.org/schoolfinder (Archdiocese of Mobile).
Largest Catholic high schools in Alabama
Enrollment is a useful scale signal — it tells you how big the campus is and, roughly, how big the classes are — but it is not a quality measure. These are the largest Catholic school records in Alabama by NCES 2023-24 enrollment; note that Montgomery Catholic Prep and Holy Spirit are PK-12 systems whose totals include lower grades.
Catholic school resources for Alabama families
How to compare Catholic high schools in Alabama
There is no official ranking of Alabama's Catholic high schools — Niche and US News lists reshuffle every year, and AL.com's "7 best" listicle is from 2016. What families can do is compare schools on the factors that actually decide whether a school works for their child:
- Metro first — Alabama families choose within their region: Birmingham (two schools), Mobile (one), Montgomery (one), Huntsville (one), Tuscaloosa (one), or Cullman (one). The city pages below go school by school.
- School size — enrollments range from about 156 students at Cristo Rey Birmingham to 770 at Montgomery Catholic Prep; two of the largest records are PK-12 systems whose totals include lower grades.
- Standalone high school versus PK-12 system — McGill-Toolen, John Carroll, Cristo Rey Birmingham, and St. John Paul II are 9-12 campuses; Montgomery Catholic, Holy Spirit, and St. Bernard also span lower grades.
- Academics and programs — AP and dual-credit offerings, arts, athletics, and college placement differ by school; ask each school for its own profile rather than relying on a single ranking.
- Faith environment — all seven schools are coeducational, and all sit in one of two dioceses: the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama (north) or the Archdiocese of Mobile (south).
- Tuition and financial aid — tuition varies by school and most schools run aid; we link to each school’s admissions page rather than publishing unverified figures. Niche, for example, lists John Carroll at roughly $11,100 — useful as a reference point, but confirm with the school.
Admissions deadlines and HSPT dates are worth collecting early, but treat them as planning inputs, not reasons to pick one school over another. Choose on fit: where your child will be comfortable, challenged, and known.
Best Catholic schools: how to choose — Our choosing-a-school guide turns rankings into a real comparison, and the FAQ below covers the questions Alabama families ask most.
How Catholic high school admissions work in Alabama
Alabama's Catholic high schools operate within two dioceses — the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama, which oversees the northern half of the state, and the Archdiocese of Mobile, which oversees the south. Each school runs its own admissions office, but the shape of the process is similar statewide: research in 7th grade, apply and test in the fall of 8th grade, and receive decisions in the winter and spring.
Most schools require an application, prior school records or transcripts, and some form of entrance assessment; some add family interviews or placement testing. Tuition and financial-aid applications run on separate deadlines from the admissions application, so collect every deadline in one place early. If you are applying to more than one school, ask each admissions office whether a single test sitting can be shared across your list — within a diocese this is sometimes possible.
A typical Alabama Catholic high school admissions timeline
- Spring-summer of 7th grade: shortlist schools by commute and fit, and note each one's entrance-test policy and tuition/aid dates.
- Fall of 8th grade: applications open, campuses hold open houses, and families register for entrance exams.
- October-January: entrance testing (the HSPT or a school-specific exam) and most application deadlines.
- Winter-spring: financial-aid and scholarship applications are due; admission decisions arrive.
- Spring: enroll, complete placement paperwork, and confirm testing or waiting-list status at any remaining schools.
Which Alabama Catholic high schools use the HSPT?
The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is the entrance exam most Catholic high schools across the country use, and Alabama schools typically give it during the fall admission cycle — but the policy differs by school and by application year. Catholic affiliation alone does not establish which test a school requires.
Our honest status for Alabama
As of this update, none of the Alabama schools in our directory has a source-reviewed HSPT record, so we can't yet say from our data which Alabama schools require the HSPT this cycle. The reliable move is to ask each school's admissions office directly — "which entrance test does your school use this cycle, and what date?" — before building a prep plan. The two diocese finders linked below are also good first stops for current admissions policy.
Alabama schools with verified HSPT information
How to prepare for the HSPT in Alabama
If your target schools do use the HSPT, start with the free diagnostic to establish a baseline, then build a study plan around the earliest test date on your list. These guides cover the practical questions Alabama families ask:
What is the HSPT?
The sections, timing, and scoring of the exam most Catholic high schools use for admissions.
HSPT vs ISEE vs SSAT
Which entrance exam your target schools use, how they differ, and why it matters for prep.
When to start HSPT prep
How far ahead to start, based on your test date, school list, and how much prep your child can sustain.
How Catholic high schools use HSPT scores
Admissions, placement, scholarships, and why the same percentile can carry different weight at different schools.
Average HSPT scores and scholarships
What the average score means for admissions and how schools use scores for merit aid.
4-week HSPT study plan
A realistic one-month plan for families starting late but still wanting to move the score.
HSPT scholarships for Alabama families
Some Alabama Catholic high schools factor HSPT scores into merit scholarship consideration, but the policy differs by school and year — ask each school's admissions and financial-aid offices directly. The HSPT scholarships by city guide explains how to research it, and the verified scholarship-deadline calendar tracks 2026-2027 dates.
Planning a Catholic high school application in Alabama
Entrance-test rules are set by the school or diocese and can differ even within the same city, so check each school's admissions site before registering. Work this checklist regardless of which schools end up on your list:
- Confirm whether each school requires the HSPT or another entrance test for the current cycle.
- Record application, transcript, recommendation, financial-aid, and scholarship deadlines separately for every school.
- Ask whether one HSPT sitting can be shared across the schools you are applying to, especially within the same diocese.
- Compare the daily commute, school size, PK-12 versus standalone structure, academic programs, and tuition and aid — not just the name.
- Build HSPT prep around the earliest test date on your list, starting with a free diagnostic to set a baseline.
Questions about Catholic high schools in Alabama
How many Catholic high schools are in Alabama?
Our directory lists 7 Catholic schools serving high-school grades in Alabama, across 6 cities: Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, and Cullman. They sit in two dioceses — the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama (north) and the Archdiocese of Mobile (south).
What are the best Catholic high schools in Alabama?
There is no official ranking — Niche and US News publish their own lists that reshuffle yearly, and AL.com's "7 best" listicle dates to 2016. The names that recur in live search results and our directory are John Carroll Catholic (Birmingham), McGill-Toolen (Mobile), Montgomery Catholic Prep, and Cristo Rey Birmingham. Compare on fit: commute, size, academics, faith environment, and cost with aid.
Are there all-boys or all-girls Catholic high schools in Alabama?
No — all seven Catholic high schools in Alabama are coeducational. There are no single-gender Catholic high schools in the state; the single-gender sets that exist in neighboring states like Florida and Ohio don't extend to Alabama.
Is there a Catholic high school in Huntsville, AL?
Yes — St. John Paul II Catholic High School, a coed 9-12 school of about 357 students on Old Madison Pike, is Huntsville's Catholic high school. It sits in the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama.
How much is tuition at Catholic high schools in Alabama?
Tuition varies by school and year, and we don't publish figures we haven't verified — each school's admissions page is the authoritative source. As a reference point, Niche lists John Carroll Catholic in Birmingham at roughly $11,100. John Carroll's admissions page and the other school sites linked on this page carry current numbers.
Are Catholic schools public or private?
Catholic schools in Alabama are private, tuition-funded schools, typically run by a diocese or religious order. They are open to students of any faith background, though families should confirm each school's admissions policy and any parishioner or Catholic-student tuition rates.
Do Catholic high schools in Alabama require the HSPT?
It varies by school and by application year, and as of this update none of the Alabama schools in our directory has a source-reviewed HSPT record — so confirm the current entrance-exam policy directly with each admissions office. The HSPT is the most common Catholic high school entrance exam nationally, so it's a reasonable default assumption for planning, but not a safe one.
Applying to a Catholic high school in Alabama?
Use the free diagnostic to establish an HSPT baseline before deciding how much preparation is necessary.
3 days free · cancel anytime
Source: NCES Private School Locator 2023-24, plus school-verified directory additions (August 2026). Enrollment figures come from NCES and may not reflect current-year numbers; confirm admissions, tuition, and testing details directly with each school. School websites and phone numbers above were verified against school pages in August 2026. Read the methodology.