It was a Friday afternoon and I was taking a Latin test at the end of a grading period. I was in my Junior year in High School at Saint Vincent Prep in Latrobe. Our Latin teacher was Benedictine Father Augustine Schultz.
During the testing period there was a knock at the classroom door, and an upperclassman said something to Father Augustine, who sent him packing. They often played tricks on some of the faculty. But soon another one came to the door, obviously with some news.
Father Augustine announced to us that the news was reporting that President John F. Kennedy had been shot. He said that after we finished the exam, we were free to leave the class.
Most of us went to the room of Father Emeric, the Art teacher, who had a television, and spent the remainder of the afternoon glued to the tv, before boarding our bus which took us to our residence at Saint Joseph Hall, a few miles down the road. There we were given permission to watch tv in the rec room (not usually permitted), and we were devastated to learn of the death of the President.
The rest of that day, and the entire weekend, was a very somber and sobering time. I remember that one of our Religious Sisters of the Ivrea Sisters, who had come to cook for us at Saint Joseph Hall, Sister Joanna, was setting the tables for supper with her eyes filled with tears.
For me, this day was one of those moments that is seared into my memory and my heart.
The date was November 22, 1963, and yesterday marked 58 years since that tragic afternoon. I don't remember how I did on the Latin test, but I am again at Saint Joseph Hall, now known as the Christ Our Shepherd retreat/Conference Center for the Diocese of Greensburg, and residing in our priests' retirement residence known as Neumann House. This is after finishing my schooling and serving in priestly ministry for forty-eight years.
November 22nd is for me a Day to Remember.
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