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Senior Honored at 46th annual African American Heritage Prayer Service
Now in its 46th year, the Archdiocese of Chicago’s African American Heritage Prayer Service celebrates and recognizes educators and students for their contribution to Catholic education by bestowing African American Heritage Awards to student and adult leaders. This year's celebration, themed "Rooted in Greatness and Growing Towards God," was held on Friday, February 23, at Holy Name Cathedral with hundreds of guests in attendance. Yvette Mensah '23, Loyola Academy graduate and recipient of the 2023 Student Leadership Award, presented Esther Debrah '24 with the Henriette Delille Award for Student Leadership.
As stated by the award criteria, Esther received nominations from their peers and was selected as the award recipient because she exemplifies "what it means to be a person of service, integrity, and commitment to Catholic education and the values of faith."
Debrah is a faith leader here at Loyola Academy. Her faith in action is exemplified through her participation in the Arrupe Service Program where she volunteers with soup kitchens and her ability to connect with others and make them feel welcome shines. She also leads fellow Ramblers in spiritual experiences such as Kairos and all school Liturgies here at Loyola.
Before presenting the award to Debrah, Mensah explained in her address to the congregation that "the deep-rooted mission of Catholic education emphasizes the importance of doing what God has called us to do concerning our lesser counterparts. This is why I attended another Jesuit school for another four years." After graduating from the Academy in 2023, Mensah is now in her first year studying accounting & data analytics at Loyola University Chicago.
Every year, this Black History Month celebration brings together students, educators, and clergy from Catholic elementary and high schools to share in honoring the rich history of Black Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago. More than 100 student leaders participated in the service as singers, praise dancers, altar servers, lectors, and banner bearers.
The event also celebrated the lives and service of six U.S. Black Catholics who are on the road to sainthood: Father Augustus Tolton, Sister Thea Bowman, Mother Mary Lange, Julia Greeley, Henriette Delille, and Pierre Toussaint.
Many thanks to the eighteen Ramblers that participated in this wonderful prayer service: Gelila Abede '24, Esther Debrah ’24, Melat Geberihiwet '24, Abigail Ghiorghis ’24, Rena Haile ’24, Betty Kidane ’24, Esther Ochang ’24, Neftalem Okbamichael ’24, Omod Opiti ’24, Mykael Russell ’24, Thomas Wulu ’24, Sinit Gebrehiwet '24, Emmanuel Asare ’24, Elijah Maggitt ’24, Biruk Chane ’24, Envi Madden ’25, and Sanchazz Bufford’25. Special gratitude to chaperones Campus Minister Mr. Mike Gregg; Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Ms. Sarah Bennett; and Safety and Security Officer Ms. Beatrice Shoular.
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Debrah is a faith leader here at Loyola Academy. Her faith in action is exemplified through her participation in the Arrupe Service Program where she volunteers with soup kitchens and her ability to connect with others and make them feel welcome shines. She also leads fellow Ramblers in spiritual experiences such as Kairos and all school Liturgies here at Loyola.
Before presenting the award to Debrah, Mensah explained in her address to the congregation that "the deep-rooted mission of Catholic education emphasizes the importance of doing what God has called us to do concerning our lesser counterparts. This is why I attended another Jesuit school for another four years." After graduating from the Academy in 2023, Mensah is now in her first year studying accounting & data analytics at Loyola University Chicago.
Every year, this Black History Month celebration brings together students, educators, and clergy from Catholic elementary and high schools to share in honoring the rich history of Black Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago. More than 100 student leaders participated in the service as singers, praise dancers, altar servers, lectors, and banner bearers.
The event also celebrated the lives and service of six U.S. Black Catholics who are on the road to sainthood: Father Augustus Tolton, Sister Thea Bowman, Mother Mary Lange, Julia Greeley, Henriette Delille, and Pierre Toussaint.
Many thanks to the eighteen Ramblers that participated in this wonderful prayer service: Gelila Abede '24, Esther Debrah ’24, Melat Geberihiwet '24, Abigail Ghiorghis ’24, Rena Haile ’24, Betty Kidane ’24, Esther Ochang ’24, Neftalem Okbamichael ’24, Omod Opiti ’24, Mykael Russell ’24, Thomas Wulu ’24, Sinit Gebrehiwet '24, Emmanuel Asare ’24, Elijah Maggitt ’24, Biruk Chane ’24, Envi Madden ’25, and Sanchazz Bufford’25. Special gratitude to chaperones Campus Minister Mr. Mike Gregg; Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Ms. Sarah Bennett; and Safety and Security Officer Ms. Beatrice Shoular.
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