Approaching our community is one of the most significant, emotional, and tradition-filled weeks at Salesianum: Graduation Week. June 1st will feature a reunion/graduation ceremony for the 2020 graduating class, who did not receive one last year due to the pandemic. On June 3rd is the Baccalaureate Mass, and on June 5th is Graduation.

All three of these events will be held at Abessinio Stadium, which offers a COVID safe environment, a great spectacle for the events, as well as a PA system and Jumbotron that will enhance the experience for the students and parents. Further, it allows all of the traditions of these events to be continued.

The Graduation for the 2020 class will be a more informal and less structured affair as a mix of a reunion and graduation. It is meant to be the commemoration that the students were not able to have last year, as well as a chance for them to see each other again.

The Baccalaureate Mass has offered some unique challenges to the planning of these events, as a stadium is a place where it may be difficult to be reverent and as there is a need to differentiate the look of the Mass from that of Graduation. To overcome these challenges, the field will be decorated with floral arrangements, the banners of our holy figures, and other aesthetics that will increase the reverence and uniqueness of this tradition. The students will in chairs sit on the field during this event, as will they during Graduation.

The Graduation itself will hold all of the traditions that have been featured for years, despite the challenges that COVID has offered. As usual, each student will be honored, with one receiving the diploma on behalf of the class. There is no confirmed guest speaker, but it can be expected that President Kennealey will give a very special speech to cap off his last year in his position. The parents and guests will watch this event from the stands with a limited capacity of four guests per person.

As usual, one can expect these events to be very emotional but a perfect end to the 2021’s time at Salesianum thanks to the hard work of the Senior Class Coordinators and anyone else involved in the planning. This send off of our brothers after a difficult year will be one that our community will remember for a very long time to come.