JOLIET – Joliet Catholic Academy paid homage to its history while starting a new tradition Thursday with a dedication ceremony for its new Heritage Quad, featuring a replica of the iconic Victory Light.
The quad includes walls paying tribute to the three schools that became Joliet Catholic Academy. It provides a new gathering place for students and alumni. And, it brings back the Victory Light, which has survived as a symbol for the school, but now is back for real.
“It’s a great reproduction,” said the Rev. Bob Colaresi, a member of the JCA Board of Members who was a principal at the old Joliet Catholic High School on Broadway Street, where the Victory Light still stands but no longer is used to mark student achievements.
“The physicality of a symbol means everything,” Colaresi said of the new Victory Light.
The Victory Light in a new form, showing the old Victory Light but adding a halo on top to combine the traditions of both Joliet Catholic High School and St. Francis Academy, has been used as a symbol for Joliet Catholic Academy since the schools were combined in 1990.
But there has not been an actual Victory Light structure on the Joliet Catholic Academy campus on Larkin Avenue until now.
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