Enthronement 2020

Every year, Sacred Heart Academy celebrates an Enthronement Mass in which the senior class and teachers nominate one senior who best exhibits the school values: community, integrity, excellence, compassion, and social justice. However, this year, in the fashion of 2020, the Enthronement Mass had a different experience. One of the biggest changes was the transformation from celebrating Enthronement as a Mass to a prayer service.

Due to Coronavirus restrictions, SHA was unable to let everyone in the chapel to witness the beautiful event, which is typically a time for the students and teachers of SHA to celebrate the qualities that make up the senior class. Although not all could be in the chapel for this service, SHA students and faculty were still able to come all together in a modified way, with our first all-school prayer- the Freshman’s first experience at this.

In addition to the change of celebration, there was a change in numbers- specifically the students who were chosen. Traditionally, only one senior is picked to lead the Enthronement mass, and those who also received a certain amount of nominations are part of the Court; however, this year two SHA girls were chosen, Mary Kate Hewitt and Jessica Giametti. Seeing as these young women always have a positive attitude, as well as an uplifting nature and a determined mindset, it is easy to see how their peers and teachers selected them. The chances of two girls each getting the same exact amount of votes, shows just how “excelsior” they are viewed. Yet, they are not the only girls who display the love of Jesus, as many other students were nominated for this position.

Interviewing Sister Elizabeth, who played a very big part in the organization of Enthronement, she shared how important this event is to her. For Sister Elizabeth, every year her heart is warmed to see how “the senior class is able to recognize those who embody the love of the Sacred Heart,” and she truly believes it is a time for seniors, as well as the other classes, to all feel the love that is shared. Sister Elizabeth also stated that it is never an easy decision to pick who she wants to nominate, especially this year, as the class of 2021 has such a wide variety of students, who all display different characteristics. Even after it came down to the final round of voting for Enthronement, it was still a hard choice for her to make as no one girl is loved more than another.

Although this year’s Enthronement may be different, the message of God’s love found in the heart of the class of 2021 was still able to be celebrated. Whether the SHA community celebrates online or not, there is always a constant appreciation and respect for those who help bring up and lead the community.