Florida Catholic | John Paul II Graduates Go Out To Meet The World

MARCI ELLIOTT | FC
John Paul II Catholic High School graduates prepare to present bouquets of roses to their parents at the sign of peace during their baccalaureate and graduation Mass May 18 at the Co–Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Tallahassee.

John Paul II graduates go out to meet the world

MARCI ELLIOTT | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 06.06.08

TALLAHASSEE | Twenty–seven graduates of John Paul II Catholic High School ended one adventure and began another during the school’s fifth commencement May 18.

Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, celebrated the baccalaureate Mass and officiated at the graduation ceremony at the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More, along with Dr. Randall Felton, principal, and Father Craig Smith, chaplain at JPII.

“It is very appropriate that the day of your graduation is on Trinity Sunday,” Bishop Ricard said in his opening remarks. “We celebrate Christ’s return to the Father … and it all comes together. God is the focus – may he guide the rest of your lives.”

Felton said the commencement was special to him as well as the graduates because it was his last one as principal. He joined the staff when the school opened in 2000 and will retire June 30.

“Today also begins a new phase of my life and it closes another chapter of our school,” said Felton. Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Sister Ellen Cronan will assume the duties of principal July 1. “It has been an honor and a privilege to be your principal,” Felton said.

All the graduates, wearing royal blue satin caps and gowns, took part in the Mass, including a welcome, the readings and the presentation of the gifts. They entered in a processional, carrying bouquets of roses, which they presented to their parents during the exchange of the sign of peace.

At the beginning of the Mass, the soon-to-be graduates placed mementoes of their four years at JPII at the foot of the altar. The items included the JPII banner, a Bible, a clock, textbooks, a trophy, a crucifix and others.

Valedictorian Mary Mangan told how her grandfather was the salutatorian of his graduating class, beginning a family tradition.

“He went to a one-room schoolhouse and there were only two students in his class,” she said, prompting a laugh from the 300 or so parents, faculty members, families and other worshippers in the congregation.

She said the day marked what would have been the 88th birthday of a person very special to the graduates and other students of the school: Pope John Paul II.

“It is a great honor to attend a school with Pope John Paul II as the namesake,” she said. “He is in heaven praying for us. … Happy birthday from the class of 2008, Pope John Paul II. Pray for us!”

Mangan gave thanks on behalf of the class of 2008 to Bishop Ricard, Felton, the faculty, parents and others who supported and guided the students during their years at JPII.

“Today we celebrate the end of one adventure and the beginning of another,” she said.

Salutatorian Jonathan Reis quoted verses on the subject of “salutations” from “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White.

“I’ve enjoyed my four years at John Paul II,” he said, recalling personal incidents and events during his studies there. He told about being reprimanded for “not being clean-shaven,” and how – when a teacher told him to “open the window” – he got up and opened a window in the back of the classroom, not realizing the teacher used a metaphor from the film “1776,” which the class watched that day.

Reis spoke about the value of a Catholic education and how much it meant to the class.

“I don’t think we could have learned as much in public schools as we did at John Paul II,” he said.

In his homily, Bishop Ricard focused on the theme of the Holy Trinity as a mystery and its appropriateness as the day of the graduation.

“Our whole lives are shared in the Trinity,” he said. “More than anything else, God is a mystery. The Trinity is a mystery. God is beyond words; beyond thoughts. … God far exceeds the capacity of the human mind.”

The bishop referred to the Second Book of Kings and the stories of Elijah, Jacob’s dream of a ladder leading to heaven, and God’s changing Jacob’s name to Israel, which means “one who wrestles with God.”

“We wrestle the mystery of God with prayer,” Bishop Ricard said.

He spoke also of Mother Teresa’s wrestling with poverty and suffering in Calcutta and of the recent cyclone that devastated Myanmar. He told the graduates to be extra kind to their parents because they, too, were going through a major life change with the graduation.

Father Smith closed the graduation ceremony with a blessing and told the graduates to move the tassels on their caps from the right to the left, signifying that they had officially graduated.

“Pomp and Circumstance” began playing as the new graduates lined up to process out of the church.

And the John Paul II Catholic High School class of 2008 belonged to the world.

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John Paul II graduates go out to meet the world

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