In the 1700's, Nano Nagle risked imprisonment and disgrace by fighting the oppression of Catholic children in Ireland.

The daughter of wealthy parents, Nagle secretly rented rooms in the city of Cork to educate Catholic children, which at the time was illegal. Soon, she ran seven schools--five for girls and two for boys.

At night, she traveled the narrow streets using a lantern to light her way. As a result, she became known as the "Lady of the Lantern."

In 1775, Nagle joined several other women in founding a new society, the Sisters of Charitable Instruction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Dedicated to the service of the poor, the community was elevated to a religious order by Pope Pius VI in 1800 and renamed the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In 1854, five Sisters of the Presentation sailed into the bay of San Francisco on the aptly named steamer, Golden Gate.

That year, the sisters established a foundation in San Francisco and opened their first school on Green Street.

The sisters would go on to establish several high schools for young women in the Bay Area, including:

• Presentation High School, San Francisco
• Presentation High School, Berkeley
• Presentation High School, San Jose