Cathedral Prep is celebrating Advent and preparing for the holidays.

The beginning of December marked a change in atmosphere at Prep. Being a Catholic campus, the school community puts in considerable efforts to recognize the importance of Advent.

During December, campus ministry students have taken time to make the whole campus feel more festive with decorations and reminders of the season.

In the first week of December, the campus ministry spread many different things around the building. The school now has Advent wreaths scattered throughout the halls as well as nativity scenes in the Student Life Center windows, the Chapel, and elsewhere. Certain places and rooms have Christmas trees and other additions for the holidays.

Prep’s Director of Campus Ministry, Emily Grenci, says that celebrating Advent together as a school allows the school to “dive deeper into the season and prepare for Christmas.” Students gathered for adoration in the chapel during their theology classes and received Advent calendars after. The calendars were bags put together by the campus ministry students and contained a piece of candy for the 25 days of Advent, along with Bible verses and challenges to complete during the season.

Mrs. Grenci and Fr. Jason Feigh expressed the importance of season. During the morning announcements, students are given an Advent focus of the week. Mrs. Seip also includes an Advent reflection in her schedule reminder emails at the beginning of each week. On Dec. 19, Reconciliation was held in the chapel so students could be prepared for Jesus’ coming with forgiveness or a blessing.

Fr. Feigh encourages students to take five minutes of silence or an extra prayer throughout the holidays to reflect on the importance of the season, and the coming of Christ.