Sacred Heart alumnae celebrate golden jubilee
Bobby socks and saddle shoes, old yearbook photos and vintage gym uniforms: They all were on display at a 50th jubilee celebration of the former Sacred Heart of Mary High School in Rolling Meadows.
Alumnae from all classes of Sacred Heart, which merged with Saint Viator High School in 1987, took a walk down memory lane as they gathered in the former school for the luncheon reception and tours.
The school now is home to the John G. Conyers Learning Academy, part of Palatine Township Elementary District 15. Its specialized curriculum serves students with special needs.
“Being here brings back such great memories,” said Rosemary Ahern Renault of Chicago, a member of the school’s first graduating class in 1965. “I’m so glad they organized this.”
Her classmate, Roseanne Bianca Gillig of Huntley, agreed, adding: “We were all part of something special.”
In all, nearly 250 graduates returned — representing all 24 classes — along with 12 former faculty members. Members of the class of 1977 had the biggest turnout, with 35, and the class of 1971 was a close second with 28 members on hand.
Included in the 1971 class was Kathy Harty of Elk Grove Village, who organized the event.
“It doesn’t matter that there’s no longer a Sacred Heart of Mary, because we are Sacred Heart of Mary,” Harty told the crowd. “Thank you for joining me on this journey.”
Anniversary events took place all year, starting in February with a 50th anniversary Mass at Saint Viator High School, and continuing in April with a women’s investment panel at Millrose Restaurant in Barrington.
At the lunch, Sr. Mary Alice Young, RSHM, was a special guest. She came from Tarrytown, N.Y., to address the graduates and update them on the school’s founding and status of the religious who taught there.
She made special mention of the faculty — some of whom were alumnae — who carried the spirit of Sacred Heart on after the merger in 1987.
“It was through their dedication that our spirit lived on,” Sr. Mary Alice said.
Sr. Mary Alice herself arrived at the school as a young chemistry teacher four years after it opened, and remained there until the sisters left in 1972.
She described how the pastor of St. Colette Church in Rolling Meadows had contacted the order, the Religious of the Sacred Heart, to help staff the parish’s new parochial school. They are based in based in Tarrytown, N.Y.
“They came by train,” Sr. Mary Alice said, “and over the years, there were 40 sisters who taught at St. Colette and at Sacred Heart.”
She described the founder of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, Fr. Jean Gailhac, who started the community of sisters in 1849 in France. She went on to describe his vision, that each of the sisters had been given unique gifts and talents and it was their responsibility to develop and use them.
“I want to thank you for the wonderful women you have become,” Sr. Mary Alice told the crowd. “Whether you’re teachers or businesswomen, or mothers or grandmothers, the best way to live out the Sacred Heart of Mary tradition is to continue to develop those gifts and bring them out into the world.”
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