Villa Victoria graduates exhorted to follow in apostles’ footsteps
June 16, 2025 at 1:32 p.m.
Just as Jesus instructed his apostles to carry on his mission to everyone they encountered, the 13 graduates of Villa Victoria Academy, Ewing, were challenged to follow in the apostles’ footsteps and “go out and build the kingdom of God.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Villa Victoria Baccalaureate Mass & Graduation
“Ready or not, you will be a witness of Christ out in the world,” Deacon Frank Golazeski said in his homily during the June 1 Baccalaureate Mass. “How do we go out and do it? We only have to live it.”
Following the Mass, which was celebrated by Msgr. Casimir Ladzinski, a retired priest of the Diocese, the graduation ceremony was led by Filippini Sister Lillian Harrington, the school’s president, and Filippini Sister Lesley Draper, principal, during which they presented the diplomas to the class that this year touts a total of $4 million in college scholarships.
Salutatorian Amelia Schaller urged her fellow graduates to “let your light shine boldly, create light in someone else’s darkness and never forget where you light was first kindled.”
Schaller also thanked God for his abundant blessings and prayed that he would “continue to shine his light on each of our lives.”
Valedictorian Juliana DeFrancesco, in her speech, reminded her classmates that “God has blessed each of us with unique gifts and talents that allow us to influence the world in a truly Christian manner.
“Many of us are saying goodbye to people and places that we’ve known for our entire lives,” she said. “Our futures are uncertain … However, I can say with full confidence that all of the wonderful young women that are on this stage will go on to have a positive impact on the world.”
DeFrancesco’s mother, Mary Ann, noted that her daughter is known as a “lifer” in that she not only attended the Villa from grades 6-12, she is also an alumna of the academy’s former Lower School which educated students from preschool through fifth grade.
The academics, the faculty and the camaraderie at Villa Victoria “all created an environment for Juliana to thrive,” Mary Ann DeFrancesco said.
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Just as Jesus instructed his apostles to carry on his mission to everyone they encountered, the 13 graduates of Villa Victoria Academy, Ewing, were challenged to follow in the apostles’ footsteps and “go out and build the kingdom of God.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Villa Victoria Baccalaureate Mass & Graduation
“Ready or not, you will be a witness of Christ out in the world,” Deacon Frank Golazeski said in his homily during the June 1 Baccalaureate Mass. “How do we go out and do it? We only have to live it.”
Following the Mass, which was celebrated by Msgr. Casimir Ladzinski, a retired priest of the Diocese, the graduation ceremony was led by Filippini Sister Lillian Harrington, the school’s president, and Filippini Sister Lesley Draper, principal, during which they presented the diplomas to the class that this year touts a total of $4 million in college scholarships.
Salutatorian Amelia Schaller urged her fellow graduates to “let your light shine boldly, create light in someone else’s darkness and never forget where you light was first kindled.”
Schaller also thanked God for his abundant blessings and prayed that he would “continue to shine his light on each of our lives.”
Valedictorian Juliana DeFrancesco, in her speech, reminded her classmates that “God has blessed each of us with unique gifts and talents that allow us to influence the world in a truly Christian manner.
“Many of us are saying goodbye to people and places that we’ve known for our entire lives,” she said. “Our futures are uncertain … However, I can say with full confidence that all of the wonderful young women that are on this stage will go on to have a positive impact on the world.”
DeFrancesco’s mother, Mary Ann, noted that her daughter is known as a “lifer” in that she not only attended the Villa from grades 6-12, she is also an alumna of the academy’s former Lower School which educated students from preschool through fifth grade.
The academics, the faculty and the camaraderie at Villa Victoria “all created an environment for Juliana to thrive,” Mary Ann DeFrancesco said.