HAGERSTOWN – It is a tradition at St. Maria Goretti Catholic High School to first bless, and then distribute, student pins to the graduating class at the end of its annual farewell Mass. This year was an exception. Not only did the graduating seniors receive pins May 21, but so did all the students, as they, too, were saying goodbye to the Hagerstown school that will close in June.
“The dictionary defines farewell as an expression of good wishes and well-being in parting,” said Monsignor J. Bruce Jarboe, pastor of St. Ann in Hagerstown, “to fare well in life. Always be proud to say ‘Go Gaels.’”
The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced in September that the school would be closing. An independent committee organized by school supporters investigated keeping the school open as an independent Catholic school, but it concluded in November that it was not feasible, and the decision was made to close.
“This year has been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone,” said Mollie Rebuck, one of two speakers during the Mass. “Not only are we leaving high school, the high school won’t exist after we graduate.”
“Everything is last” this school year, Dr. Amy Summers, principal, said afterward. Last game, last theater production, last farewell Mass. It has been emotional, especially when the decision was first announced, she said, and she credits the Goretti family for its strength in continuing forward.
“They’re just good kids, good families,” Summers said. “God got us through this as well.”
Sophomore Arielle Bowen’s grandparents met while students at Goretti, and both her father and her aunt are graduates, too. Her younger sister was to be a freshman in the fall.
“It’s a family school. We’re sad to have it go. So many memories,” said Bowen,16. “It was hard knowing it is coming to an end soon.”
Her family did their best to try to keep the school open, she said, but it wasn’t enough. She will attend St. John’s Catholic Prep in Buckeystown for her junior year. Students are “going all over,” Summers said, as the school draws from three states: Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. On its website, Goretti listed several Catholic school options and their distance. St. John’s Catholic Prep was the closest at 32.4 miles, Bishop Walsh School in Cumberland, the farthest, at 74 miles.
Meghan Cordell, a math teacher at Goretti, said it was important to be patient throughout the school year, and allow students extra time if needed, because it was a hard time.
“Graduation is going to be really sad when it sets in,” Cordell said. “Goretti meant a lot to people.”
A 2011 Goretti alum herself, Cordell remembers her teachers at Goretti fondly as well as school events such as Color Day and her time playing volleyball, cheering and participating on the academic team.
“I loved the old building and coming out to the courtyard,” Cordell said. “It was a little community.”
The school grew from St. Mary’s High School, which formed in 1933 in Hagerstown. It was renamed St. Maria Goretti High School when it opened in1955 on Oak Hill Avenue in a brand-new building. A gymnatorium, now known as the Gael Center, was added in 1965. In 2019, the school was relocated to its current site on Crestwood Drive and the original building at Oak Hill Avenue, though not the Gael Center, was demolished as it was in a flood plain. The Gael Center remained home to the school’s athletic teams. A showcase filled with Goretti sports memorabilia will stay on display at the center, which is owned by St. Ann Catholic Church, according to Summers.
Other school memorabilia, Summers said, was given to St. Mary Catholic School in Hagerstown for display.
After the farewell Mass, underclassmen lined the sidewalk between the church and the Gael Center to cheer on the senior class as they passed through. Students relaxed on the lawn, played ball in the Gael Center and enjoyed a cookout prepared by staff. This celebration was a break in tradition, Summers said, as in the past, underclassmen went back to school after the Mass.
“Each of you has played an important role in the history of Goretti,” said an emotional Summers during her address to the students at the Mass. “Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palms of his hands.”
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