In 1935 the Sisters of St. Joseph officially acquired the hilltop Rose Crest estate, a landmark of turn of the century Queens, and the Mediterranean Revival white stucco mansion became the convent for the Sisters who were to staff this "Private School for Girls." Mother Mary Louis had intended the new academy to be named Mother Fontbonne Academy, in memory of Jeanne Fontbonne, the foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Le Puy, France. Archbishop Molloy suggested that the Academy be named in memory of Mother Mary Louis herself, as she had been such a driving force for education in New York and had personally chosen this property. Sister Mary Angelica Clarkin CSJ, Ph.D., the founding principal, applied to the New York Department of Education for the official Academy charter in the name "Mother Mary Louis Academy." When the charter was delivered, it arrived with the first two letters, as well as the last, in the word "Mother" missing, thus the word "The" was permanently affixed to the name of The Mary Louis Academy.