HAMMOND/GARY – Bishop Noll Institute’s most recent graduates arrived at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels the morning of June 4, ready to commemorate an important milestone in their education. The day, which began with a Baccalaureate Mass and ended with commencement exercises in the school’s gymnasium, celebrated the Class of 2026.
Graduate Kenia Santana said it was really exciting to arrive at the end of her senior year of high school. She called it a surreal moment and one she and her classmates had been “waiting for for so long.”
Santana enjoys meeting new people, so her favorite part of attending Bishop Noll was making new friends and building real connections. She said she will always remember being part of the soccer team and the time they were able to win against Andrean High School.
Santana feels BNI has prepared her for college and her career path. She plans to study dental hygiene at Indiana University Northwest.
Fellow classmate Rey Servin also used the word surreal to describe his feelings on the day of the Baccalaureate Mass and Graduation, adding that his time at BNI “went by way too fast.” He, too, appreciates all the friends he made during high school.
“The majority of my friends are people that I didn't know until freshman year, and now, I don't think I'm ever going to forget them,” he said.
Servin’s favorite memory was playing baseball and hitting a walk-off run to send the team to sectionals his junior year. He believes his time spent studying and participating in sports at BNI helped prepare him mentally for college.
“I feel like what I learned here is going to be similar to college,” he said. “I know what to expect.”
During the Baccalaureate Mass, Bishop Robert J. McClory addressed the school community, congratulating the students on their many accomplishments. In his homily, the bishop spoke on the importance of looking to the future and reflecting on the questions “What is my direction in life?” and “What is the Lord calling us to do?”
“This is sometimes referred to as your ‘why’,” Bishop McClory said. “What is your ‘why’? What inspires you? Why are you doing what you are doing? Do you know? Understanding what moves you and stirs your passion can be a key component to leading a more fulfilling and meaningful life.”
The bishop said that as the graduates embark upon the next stage of their lives, they do so formed and shaped in the gifts that Bishop Noll Institute has passed on to them. He said the Catholic high school is rooted in the fundamental “why” that “we exist to give praise and glory to God.”
“To know our ‘why’ is rooted in the love that God has for us, and our response to that is beautiful,” the bishop explained. “That is to look at the big picture and with each decision you make, invite the Holy Spirit in and say, ‘Holy Spirit, guide me. Let me understand what you’re calling me to do.’”
Bishop McClory told the graduates that they will find themselves facing difficult decisions, such as what to do after graduation, what job to take and where to live, but remembering that the core understanding that they are to be instruments of God is a great way to live.
As the Mass concluded, Principal Lorenza Pastrick took to the ambo to share one more “Mass moment” with the Class of 2026. She explained that she believes that every time the school community comes together to celebrate the Eucharist, “we should leave with our hearts filled, with our cup filled.”
Pastrick noted her thoughts on this particular day were coming through the lens of a parent, as her own daughter recently received the sacrament of confirmation and will be entering high school next year. She also shared that her brother recently welcomed a baby daughter whom they named Corazon de La Paz, meaning “heart of peace.”
Those two life events, she said, made her reflect on the heart of peace, and think about all the transitions the seniors seated before her had gone through as young adults – from First Holy Communion to confirmation.
“It made me reflect on the reality of confirmation and its opportunity to become an adult in the Church,” she said. “And I really was thinking about how Bishop Noll was a great set of ‘training wheels’ for our young adults.”
Pastrick said BNI is very intentional with prayer and very intentional with Mass services. For four years, she said, students had an opportunity to have ‘training wheels,’ but added that now it was time for them to leave the ‘training wheels’ behind.
“You now need to go be leaders and disciples and students,” she said. “If you haven't heard me say it once or a thousand times, you are called to be the hands and feet of Christ.”
Referring back to her niece's name, Pastrick encouraged the students to find peace by turning to the Lord.
“You will only find peace at the heart of our Lord, one with him, one in the quiet times,” she said. “It's really hard to find quiet times, so you must be intentional. Because the next four, five, six years of your life are a transition into full-on adulting, and adulting is hard… Class of 2026, I am proud to have led you for four years. I am proud of the young men and women that you have become. Continue to do the work of the Lord in everything, and that is where you will find your peace.”
