Page 2 - The Paduan Fall 2021

FAITH,FAMILY&FIREWORKS Padua Kicks Off its 60th Anniversary Celebration
Padua kicked off its 60th anniversary celebration on the beautiful night of Saturday, August 14, 2021. We welcomed nearly 1,000 alumni, students, parents, priests, and friends to an outdoor Mass at Padua Stadium. The presider was Fr. Thomas Nairn, OFM, provincial minister of the Sacred Heart Province of Franciscans. The homilist, Fr. Joe Mamich ’97, who serves as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Strongsville, delivered a message about the importance of having hope in any circumstance. Additionally, a dozen priests and deacons from around the Diocese participated in the Mass. Dozens of Padua alumni returned home to joyfully sing in the church choir.
Another major milestone was marked at the end of Mass. David Stec ’86 was commissioned and blessed as the sixth president of Padua. Stec is both the first lay person and the first alumnus to serve in this role.
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After Mass, guests walked down memory lane as they watched a video presentation highlighting some of Padua’s nostalgic events from double-decker dances and Homecoming parades to Olympic Day lip-syncs and Christmas for Others charity drives.
Once the sun set, the fireworks show began over Padua’s campus. Guests enjoyed the dazzling display of bright colors in the summer sky.
Attendees received a 60th anniversary cookie, as well as a keepsake St. Francis of Assisi prayer card as they exited.
“We’re at an incredible point in the history of our school,” Stec said. “It is time to celebrate the past and also build on the work of so many before us as we begin a new era.”
Legends
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1972–2022
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Padua Franciscan High School
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