Applause bounced from the walls of the Sacred Heart gymnasium as principal David Andrys called the names of graduates from the class of 2016. In front of family, friends, and faculty, they walked one by one to the podium to receive their high school diplomas.
The graduation took place at 4 p.m. Sunday at Sacred Heart High School. Pastor Gerard Braun of St. Michael's Parish & School opened the ceremony with prayer and encouraged graduates with a Bible verse.
Valedictorian Michele Frances Remer reminisced with her classmates, some of whom have been attending Sacred Heart since kindergarten, of their shared academic and extracurricular experiences in her commencement speech.
"We need to bring the spirit of Sacred Heart with us," Remer said, adding that the teachers had helped them become "mature young adults with a strong Catholic faith."
Father Larry Delaney, a pastor at St. Joseph's Parish in Moorhead, who gave the commencement address, referenced "Amoris Laetitia," a letter by Pope Francis that reflects upon the "ethical formation of children." He thanked parents for having chosen Sacred Heart to "walk with them" in "shaping the will of their children, fostering good habits and a natural inclination towards goodness."
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Quoting Psalm 23:4, Delaney spoke of the images that the class verse conjures: trust that parents, teachers, loved ones, friends, God will "lead us not only through darkness, but to his light."
As the graduates leave Sacred Heart, he asked them to also trust that God will use their God-given gifts in the next chapter of their lives.
