Central Catholic’s Annual Advent Pilgrimage Scheduled for December 19

On Friday, December 19, Central Catholic High School students and staffulty will make their annual Advent Pilgrimage to Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral to celebrate Mass.  This tradition began in 1973 and is an opportunity for the entire Irish family to come together in a most sacred place as we prepare for Christmas.

The procession will begin on the front sidewalk of the school at 11:30 a.m.  It will be led by administrators and student leaders across Cherry Street, down Rosalind Place to Melrose Avenue, and then to Rosary Cathedral at 2535 Collingwood Blvd.  

Central Catholic parents, families, alumni, and friends are invited to join the procession and celebrate Mass, which is scheduled to begin at noon. 

“I don’t know a single CCHS graduate who doesn’t carry a heart filled with joy, a mind full of memories, and a warm smile whenever someone mentions their Advent Pilgrimage walk to Rosary Cathedral,” said Fr. Kevin Moebius (Class of 1999), CCHS Priest Leader.  “I’d be hard-pressed to find another high school in the country that offers anything even close to what we experience during Advent with our mother church, Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, our Diocese of Toledo cathedral that many would place among the top five most beautiful in the nation.  It’s a tradition like no other, experienced only at Central Catholic.  For a CCHS freshman walking in for the first time, it’s breathtakingly stunning.  For a senior walking out, it’s a forever, unmistakable, unshakable Irish Family memory.” 

The Advent Pilgrimage tradition began in December 1973 as a wayto show our connection with the local neighborhood and the City of Toledo.  The walk from Central Catholic High School to Rosary Cathedral for Mass has been a tradition for over 50 years, and it expresses Central Catholic's commitment to our Catholic faith and our local community.