In commemoration of the support Bishop George W. Ahr gave to the founding of St. Augustine of Canterbury School, Kendall Park, members of the student council made a pilgrimage May 7 to St. Mary Cemetery, Trenton, to pray in gratitude at the grave of the past bishop of the Trenton Diocese.

As part of the ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the school, Father Robert G. Lynam, pastor of St. Augustine of Canterbury, several faculty and staff of the school and the student council gathered to offer Mass for Bishop George Ahr in the Chapel of Saint Francis located in one of the mausoleums on the grounds of St. Mary Cemetery.

Offering the Mass in the Chapel also honored Pope Francis and the namesake of the cathedral in the Diocese of Metuchen. Following Mass, those in attendance processed to Bishop Ahr’s grave where prayers were offered for the repose of his soul and a grave cover was placed. Prior to returning to the school, each student personally blessed the bishop’s grave with the words, “May God bless you Bishop Ahr.”

Throughout 2013, the students, faculty and staff of St. Augustine of Canterbury School are celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding and history in the field of Catholic education by commemorating several events that were critical in establishing the school or were milestones in its history. One such critical event took place in 1962 when Bishop Ahr and Father John J. Reilly, founding pastor of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish, broke ground to build the school. One year later, Bishop Ahr returned to the parish and its grounds to dedicate and bless the school building.

On May 5 the Diocese of Trenton solemnly remembered the 20th anniversary of the death of Bishop Ahr in 1993.