St. Bede homecoming activities begin Sept. 29

Parade set for Sept. 30

St. Bede players Landon Jackson (25) celebrates with his teammate Ben Wallace (13) after scoring a touchdown against Kewanee on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 at the Academy in Peru.

St. Bede Academy in Peru will host weekend-long Homecoming festivities beginning with the annual powder puff game at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29.

On Friday, Sept. 30, the homecoming parade will march through downtown Peru at 5 p.m., with St. Bede’s newest Abbot Michael Calhoun, O.S.B. ‘89 leading the march. Prime location to sit for the parade will be from the corner of the former police station and post office to the intersection at Schuyler Street . The parade will be followed by the annual student variety show at 7:30 p.m. in Abbot Vincent Gymnasium. On Friday evening, many class reunions will also be gathering at various locations around the Illinois Valley. A list of gatherings and class liaisons can be found at st-bede.com/homecoming.

On Saturday, Oct. 1, the annual Jim Lattin 5K Run/Walk will begin at 8 a.m. on campus. Registration will be set up at 7 a.m. in the St. Bede shelter for those who wish to register that day. At 10 a.m., the Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony will begin, where Abbot emeritus Philip Davey, O.S.B. ‘65, Joan Jobst, Charles Link ‘56 and the 1992 varsity baseball will be inducted. Immediately following the hall of fame, the naming and dedication of Abbot Philip Davey, O.S.B. Field will take place at the softball field.

Also on Saturday, the academy will open its doors from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for tours of the second floor renovations, which were completed this summer. The state-of-the-art renovations include restored classrooms and corridors, complete with modern classroom furniture, lockers, windows and upgrades to the infrastructure, such as electrical and heating and cooling systems. These renovations are all part of the academy’s ongoing Legacy Project.

Tailgating and reunion gatherings will begin at 11:30 a.m. on campus and continue into the evening.

The varsity football game will kick off at 1 p.m. where St. Bede will take on the Bureau Valley Storm. During the halftime show, the Golden Bedan Class of ‘72 will be honored. Each year, the class celebrating their 50th class reunion become “Golden Bedans.” In honor of this milestone, the Class of ‘72 came together and raised more than $124,000 as part of a class gift, which was the restoration of the railings, woodwork and terrazzo stairs in the historic old main stairwell.

Following the Homecoming football game, the fifth annual BruinsJam concert, featuring a lineup of performances by St. Bede alumni, will play into the evening.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, the annual alumni mass is at 10 a.m., where a formal induction of the Golden Bedan class will take place. The annual Bruins Brunch, hosted by the Alumni Association, will follow and be held in the Perino Science Center. During the brunch, this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award will be presented to Paul D. Perona ‘56. Brunch tickets are being sold now.

The weekend will conclude Sunday evening with the annual Homecoming student dance.

For more information about Homecoming 2022, visit St. Bede’s website, www.st-bede.com/homecoming.