After a brief hiatus last school year due to Covid, the annual class pilgrimages are back but with some slight modifications. 

The freshmen and seniors will be traveling off-campus, but they will visit Arabia Mountain instead of Stone Mountain as they have in the past. Located near St. Pius in Lithonia, Arabia Mountain features a 1.3-mile walking trail up a 955-foot tall mountain. Upon reaching the top, students will celebrate Mass with Chaplain Fr. Michael. The seniors will make the trek on Wednesday, March 30, and freshmen will visit on Thursday, April 21.

Sophomores and juniors have a completely different itinerary. They will stay on campus and participate in several service projects throughout the day, including making sandwiches and snack bags for the homeless and decorating signs to help welcome refugees to America. 

Juniors already had their pilgrimage on March 3, and sophomores will enjoy theirs on Thursday, April 28.

While previous sophomore and junior pilgrimages have taken place at local churches or the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, the reason for staying on campus this year is a “two-part thing” according to Campus Minister Mr. Zahi Ikhwan. “Some of the Covid stuff while we were planning was still affecting where we could go,” but he added that the primary reason is that Campus Ministry wanted to include a service component to the day which was easier to coordinate with 250+ students if they remained at school.

All classes will be allowed to be out of uniform for their pilgrimages, with the dress code being shorts, jeans, and a St Pius X t-shirt.