ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Elizabeth Academy, a 130-year-old Catholic institution in south St. Louis, will shut its doors for the last time at the end of the 2013 school year.

St. Elizabeth has educated Catholic girls at the high school on Arsenal since it was founded by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood in O’Fallon back in 1882.

But now, due to declining enrollment, an increasing deficit, and the high cost of maintaining an aging physical plant, the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood have approved the recommendation for closure from the St. Elizabeth Academy Board of Directors.

Leaders of the order call it a heartbreaking decision that comes after three years of discussion, research, input and prayer.