The countdown: Top 10 local news stories of 2013
Published 6:50 am Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Paul Rysavy looks at the high school diploma he received this June from Pacelli Catholic Schools. Rysavy was a member of the school’s class of 1944 but didn’t graduate with the rest of his peers after he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1943. He was honored as part of Pacelli’s 100th anniversary celebration. — Herald file photo
(9) Pacelli Catholic Schools celebrates 100-year milestone
Pacelli Catholic Schools celebrated a big anniversary in 2013.
St. Augustine Catholic Schools started in about 1913, and thousands of students have called Pacelli their own over the years.
For the big celebration, Pacelli organizers spent almost every month participating in a special event designed to reinforce Pacelli values and teach the community about the school system.
Pacelli’s marquee event was the all-school reunion that took place Aug. 24-26, the same time as the annual Austin ArtWorks Festival. The festivities included an open house, class photos and an all-school Mass.
Alumni from all over the U.S. came home to experience the fun, and one former student — Paul Rysavy, of Hugo, Minn. — received his high school diploma almost 70 years after he left Pacelli to serve in World War II. Though he was automatically graduated in 1946, he never had proof he was a Pacelli grad until Pacelli officials presented him with a diploma during an all-school banquet on Aug. 25.
