As seniors near the end of their four years on the Hill, the school community gathers one final time at the traditional year-end Candle Rose farewell mass in May. While the exchange of candles and roses between upperclassmen is a yearly tradition that seniors anticipate, one may wonder about the history of this event. How did it begin? What is its history?
“When I was a student, the ceremony was different because it was at night,” counselor and Religious studies teacher Ms. Davitt said.
Ms. Davitt remembers there being two separate ceremonies at the end of the year: the Farewell Mass and the Candle Rose Mass.
“Before, the Farewell Mass used to be during the school day, and the Candle
Rose exchange at night but when I came back to work here eight years ago both masses combined into one,” Ms. Davitt said.
As an alumna of the senior class of 2012, Ms. Davitt understands the reasoning behind the transition to a single mass.
“I think it makes sense that they combined them because they both demonstrate the end of something and the beginning of something new,” Davitt said.
Seniors agree that the ceremony upholds significant importance within the FSHA community.
“It is bittersweet in the sense that it excites people for the upcoming year, but it’s also a goodbye,” Gabby Gamboa ‘25 said.
In the ceremony, the candle and the rose each represent a strong message that follows FSHA’s pillar of community.
“The rose that juniors give seniors signifies the love of FSHA’s school community, while the candle juniors receive signifies the light of wisdom seniors pass along to the upcoming senior class,” Ms. Davitt said.
As alumni reminisce on their time on the Hill as seniors, they think back to what the ceremony meant to them.
“I remember feeling sad about gathering with the entire FSHA community one last time,” alumni Gaby Munguia ‘23 said.
Since the ceremony marks the last liturgical gathering among all members of the FSHA community, seniors find the beauty in the goodbye.
“I know that saying goodbye to a community of people I care so deeply about will be hard but I feel excited to give rise to a new class of seniors,” Gamboa ‘25 said.
Although the gathering of the candle-rose liturgy may bring forward feelings of nostalgia and sadness for upperclassmen, Tologs should remember to look towards the positive side.
“I think the ceremony is important because the leaders of the school are now leaving that position to a new group of people who have not yet filled it. From hello to goodbye, trust and confidence are one of the most important parts of the candle-rose ceremony,” Gamboa ‘25 said.
