Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • October 19, 2018 22 Spotlight on Schools Presented by The Leo W. Seal Family Foundation, Our Lady Academy held its First Annual Run for Mercy 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run at the Washington Pier on Saturday. There were over 200 registered runners for the fundraiser event. OLA senior Olivia Gelpi won the Overall Award in the women’s division and Kyle Lewis won it in the men’s division. In the 18 and under age category, Gabe Sandoz took first; Liam Arnsdorf placed second and Thomas Mortillaro captured third. In the 30-39, Kyle Lewis placed first and Charles Smith second. In the 40-49 group, Abe Banks, seized first place followed by Hugh Kent in second and Jory Babin in third. Father Michael O’Connor led the 50-59 group with Ben Benvenutti coming in second and Ben Casey in third. In the women’s 18 and under age group, first place went to Olivia Gelpi, followed by Ava Banks in second and Allie Gant in third. In the 19-29 category, first place went to Lizzy Milner; second place Angelica Halcin and third place went to Anna Baher. In the 30-39 group, first place went to Sarah Taylor; second place Emily Corely and Jill Rutherford followed in third. Camille Schafer took first, Angela Wattingney came in second and Kim Martin took third in the 40-49 bracket. In the 50-59 division, Cindy Burnett took first; Brenda Ashley second; and Anne Smith third. In the 60-69 group, Carolyn Boudreaux took first and Margaret Taylor placed second. In conjunction with the 5K Run for Mercy and Mercy Day, the OLA alumnae formed a scholarship trust fund in honor of former teacher Mary Alice Benvenutti. The alumnae raised over $5,000. The scholarship will help provide students with financial assistance to begin and complete their education at OLA. OLA teacher and organizer Leigh Chapman com- mented, “We had a remarkable turn out and everyone had such a good time even after the race. We can’t thank our many sponsors enough and The Leo W. Seal Family Foundation for their support. Also, as an OLA alum, it was great to see so many of my fellow class- mates come out and support our cause. It was truly a huge success! We are already working on next year’s event.” Alumnae Group OLA Seniors Runners at the starting line Our Lady Academy (OLA) held its annual Mercy Day Celebration on September 21. Each year, OLA observes the founding of the House of Mercy on Baggot St. in Dublin, Ireland. Catherine McAuley opened the House of Mercy to shelter and educate women and girls. Mother Catherine McAuley founded the sisters of Mercy in 1831. Her motto, “Let us fit young women for earth without unfitting them for heaven” remains present in the halls of Our Lady Academy. The celebration consists of a morning prayer ser- vice, tea, a family picnic, and lots of music, games, and laughter. OLA teacher Leigh Chapman began the Mercy Day prayer ceremony with a tribute to Catherine McAuley. “It is a dream of God’s compassion and mercy that became the House of Mercy on Baggot Street in Dublin, Ireland. The initial opening of those first doors of mercy widened to embrace the struggling poor of Dublin and beyond. Catherine chose to use her inherited wealth to extend Christ’s mercy to those in need. The House of Mercy addressed the needs of homeless girls and women as well as people who were uneducated and economically poor.” The theme of this year’s celebration centered on the ‘Door of Mercy’ . “You only have to knock once, and you only have to knock lightly. The God of Mercy, whose door it is, is always home.” A door was erected for the students, faculty and all attendees to walk through it and present their special intentions to God. Included in the prayer service, each sisterhood pre- sented gifts of service to OLA’s Sisters of Mercy, Sister Jackie and Sister Elisa. The sisterhoods are made up of students from each class representing six ministries: Hospitality, Respect and Dignity, Justice, Diversity, Integrity and Compassion and Stewardship. The pur- pose of sisterhoods is for students to work as a team in developing and fulfilling projects that service others. The gifts involved service projects directed to help the poor, the homeless, the underprivileged and children in need. Alumnae, parents, students and faculty joined for tea and pastries in the Gulf Coast Community Center. Lunch was celebrated on the lawn under elaborate decorated tents, accompanied by a local soloist. Following lunch, the competition between the sister- hoods began. Sisterhood teams competed in kick ball, a scavenger hunt, art project, quiz bowl, and crash course on ironing a hem. Once the scores for each team were tallied, the winner of this year’s Mercy Day Sisterhood was announced. The “Stewardship” sisterhood team took home the 2018 Mercy Day trophy. Students practicing ironing a hem Students enjoying lunch on the lawn Students walking through the ‘Door of Mercy’ Our Lady Academy, Bay St. Louis