2008 May Crowning and Ring Ceremony
(Above) Total group of Juniors and Seniors in front of OLG Church following the Ring Ceremony.
Megan Chevis, OLA Campus Ministry President, Senior Kristin Kergosien, from Bay St. Louis, presents the OLA class ring
crowns the statue of Mary. to Junior Kathleen McKissack, from Pass Christian.
Our Lady Academy held two of its most cherished traditions, the Ceremony of the Crowning of the Blessed Mother and the presentation of class rings to the Junior Class, on May 2 in the Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church. Mrs. Susan Goggins, OLA Principal, gave a formal introduction to the two ceremonies.
Members of the Class of 2008, dressed in their white graduation robes, conducted a prayer service entitled “Women of Christianity.” The readers were: Brittany Piazza, Patricia Arroyo, Kathryn McDonald, and Candace Dollar. Students who led the responses were: Ashley Derenbecker, Mary Chilimigras, Kaitlyn Stovall, Ansley Blalock, Miriam Taylor, Emily Vaughn, Nicolina Vaught, Taylor Gavin, Alexandra Hahn, Chelsi Potee, Whitney Allen, and Megan Bermond.
Rebekah Kennedy introduced the May Crowning Ceremony.
Megan Chevis, president of the OLA Campus Ministry, crowned the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Megan is the daughter of Connie and John Chevis of Bay St. Louis.
Following the crowning of Mary, Shelly Reboul, Senior Class President, led the student body in the “Act of Consecration to the Blessed Virgin.”
Amelia Simpson, Student Body President, introduced the Junior Ring Ceremony. Following the blessing of the rings by Father Michael Tracey, Pastor of Our Lady of the Gulf Parish, Mrs. Goggins formally called forward each junior who was escorted by members of the Senior Class. Sister Jacqueline Howard, OLA President, distributed the rings to the seniors who presented them to the Class of 2009.
As president of the Class of 2008, Shelly Reboul issued a challenge to next year’s seniors and symbolized the passage of time and new leadership at OLA with the presentation of the life-size “Senior Cross” to the Junior Class.
Sarah Bacot, Junior Class President, gave the class response and remarked that the Class of 2008 has “embodied the OLA spirit of unity” and has given the student body “an amazing example of service.” In accepting the OLA class rings, Sarah said her class accepted the challenge of leading OLA through 2008-2009.
The ceremony closed with the OLA “Alma Mater.”