Members of Bishop Kearney’s Class of 2020 reunited at St. Athanasius-St. Dominic Church for a special Mass on August 16. The students — who weren’t able to graduate from the all-girls Catholic high school due to its closure in August 2019 — completed their first three years at Bishop Kearney and transferred to other local high schools this past year to complete their senior year.
The graduating class of 2020 hasn’t had the best luck. The coronavirus pandemic has forced many colleges and universities to hold their ceremonies online. After four years of hard work, most graduates would be disappointed, or even angry, with not receiving proper recognition, but not Pat Branley.
The Class of 2020 includes more than 2,500 graduates from 17 Catholic high schools in Brooklyn and Queens. Each year, The Tablet recognizes one outstanding graduate from each school as a way of saluting that year’s entire class. The scholars profiled here are are young women and men who have distinguished themselves through academic achievement, Christian leadership and
community involvement.
Students and teachers in Catholic high schools around the Diocese of Brooklyn adapted well to the switch to online education, made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic, according to school officials.
Car parades, virtual proms, home visits from principals personally delivering caps and gowns to doorsteps, and drive-by graduation ceremonies are just some of the ways high schools around the Diocese of Brooklyn are making seniors feel special in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
