Every month, the Ron Thillen Gymnasium transforms and students and faculty come together to celebrate mass. This month, however, it looked different. On Wednesday, April 20, the Xavier High School community celebrated Grandparents Day Mass. This year marks 12 years, including the virtual Grandparents Day Mass held in 2020 and 2021, of this tradition. One family among the 1,000 people in attendance this year was the Globokar family. Senior Abby Globokar had the opportunity to sit with her grandparents, continuing the tradition her siblings set before her. Her grandpa, Jim Crosheck, shared his thoughts about the event. “I like the fact that we are gathered all together, getting the chance to get recognition together. . .We have been going [to the mass] for about 8-10 years,” Crosheck said. This event is said to be nothing short of a team effort. It began with the Xavier Foundation mailing out hundreds of invitations to the grandparents inviting them to mass and then collecting the RSVPs. The Campus Ministry team, Mrs. Jody Esker and Mrs. Jaclyn Richmond, plan out the liturgical service, which included finding students to assist in certain parts of the mass. While there were limited spots available to help during the mass, all students had the opportunity to honor their relatives. Students wrote the names of their grandparents on an assortment of colored paper leaves. The red leaves showed those that were able to come to the mass, the green leaves represented those still living but unable to attend and the yellow leaves honor the grandparents who have passed away. Last year during the pandemic, Xavier was not able to bring the grandparents physically to Xavier. However, they had the opportunity to come together spiritually and watch a live stream of the event no matter where they were located in the United States. As director of Campus Ministry at Xavier High School, Esker is passionate about this yearly tradition despite last year’s COVID-19 pandemic. “We are thrilled to have grandparents join us in person this year. During the time of COVID we were grateful to gather virtually. In-person or virtual, we cherish our time with grandparents,” Esker said. When freshman Aaron Stadelmann was asked how he felt about celebrating this mass with his grandparents he said that it was a good day. Connie Stadelmann, his grandma, had more to say about the day and tradition. “I like how the grandparents are just so celebrated. . . We could not come [to the Mass] during the pandemic but four years before that and then this is the first one now,” Stadelmann said. This event is one that the Xavier community will continue to look forward to every year. Even if it is not Grandparents Mass specifically, remember to always share how much love surrounds them.