‘An easy decision to make’: Dedication ceremony held at St Aloysius

St. Aloysius Catholic School held a dedication ceremony for Hosemann Hall, a corridor in the High School building, Thursday morning.

The dedication comes after Connie and David Hosemann donated funds to the school for recently completed renovations in the three main buildings of the facility.

“Their incredible generosity has touched our hearts and will have a lasting impact on our school community for generations to come,” Kristi Smith, director of development at the school, said at the ceremony. “We are not only recognizing their generosity, but also their alignment with our mission to foster an environment where students grow in faith, knowledge, and service.”

Hosemann Hall was one of the parts of the building to undergo renovations. Smith described what was included in the recent updates.

“This school looked very different before. Not structurally, but we were able to get new paint, new ceiling tiles, new lighting,” she said. “So all three buildings received a tremendous amount of work in a very short time period.”

Smith said the work had to be done quickly in order to have the facility ready for the first day of school.

The renovations were the second phase of an expansion project being conducted by the school. The first was the acquisition of land for a new building, and the third phase will be the actual construction of that building.

Bishop Joseph Kopacz, of the Diocese of Jackson, read scripture at the ceremony and led attendees in prayer.

The Hosemann’s, who were in attendance, said that the dedication came as a surprise.

“I didn’t know what, but I always wanted to do something special for the school,” David Hosemann said. “I had no indication that they were going to do this.”

David Hosemann also spoke about one of the reasons he wanted to donate to the school.

“You want to have the best campus environment you can have, and to keep, selfishly, to try to keep people here in Vicksburg, from moving off,” he said. “It can be the best-kept secret.”

David grew up going to Catholic school in Vicksburg, and the couple’s two sons both graduated from St. Aloysius.

On the decision to donate the funds for renovations, David Hosemann said, “It was easy. It was an easy decision to make.”