Diplomas will be awarded in the coming days to 650 seniors preparing to graduate from the seven Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Peoria.

The first school to hold commencement exercises will be Schlarman High School in Danville. The school’s 38 seniors will attend a graduation Mass and ceremonies starting at 3:30 p.m. this Sunday, May 16, at Holy Family Church.

The 200 seniors of Peoria Notre Dame’s Class of 2010 will assemble for a baccalaureate Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 17. Diplomas will be awarded at commencement ceremonies that begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19, at the Peoria Civic Center.

St. Bede Academy in Peru has scheduled a baccalaureate Mass for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 22, at St. Bede Abbey Church. The academy’s 118th commencement will recognize the 67 graduating seniors at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 23, also at St. Bede Abbey Church.

In Champaign, the High School of Saint Thomas More has scheduled graduation ceremonies for its 86 seniors to begin with a 2 p.m. Mass at the school.

That same afternoon, St. Patrick Church of Merna in Bloomington will host a Mass and graduation ceremonies for the 103 seniors of Central Catholic High School beginning at 3 p.m.

In Rock Island, the 106 seniors at Alleman High School will gather for a baccalaureate Mass at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 27, at Sacred Heart Church in Moline. They will receive their diplomas during ceremonies at 8 p.m. the following evening in Centennial Hall of Augustana College.

Marquette High School in Ottawa has scheduled its baccalaureate Mass for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 27, at St. Patrick’s Church in Ottawa. The 50 graduating seniors will then attend commencement on Sunday, May 30, at 3 p.m. in Bader Gym at Marquette. The ceremonies will include the announcement of inductees to the school’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

Photos and biographies of the valedictorians and salutatorians of the Class of 2010 at these schools will appear in a future issue of The Catholic Post.