Like St. Aloysius, Cor Jesu Senior Rings were a Big Deal.
Cor Jesu Senior Rings
So, the Class of 2025 have their rings. Tonight, they’ll celebrate at their Ring Dance. While the Kingsmen didn’t have the Brother Mark Thornton Terrace for a dance venue, I’m sure they knew how to party.
Here’s a ring from the class of 1958. The ring shows the school’s name, with the city below the stone. The font for the “CJ” encrusting provides a bit of flourish. While the concept art for the first BMHS ring didn’t include it, the production design included the city’s name.
One side presents the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a scroll proclaiming “Amateur Cor Jesu” (Loved be the Heart of Jesus). This Sacred Heart image is similar to the mosaic which hung in the Brother Martin High School main entrance for years. I don’t know if it dates back to Cor Jesu. That mosaic currently hangs in the Brother Jean Sobert Advancement Building. So integral to the school’s traditions and the Institute is this proclamation, Cor Jesu High School’s name is oft-repeated in modern times.
Below the Sacred Heart is a small shield containing the “19” of the class year.
The other side of the ring completes the class year, with “58” in a shield. The ring features an image of the main entrance of the school, including the two-story classroom building on Elysian Fields. This image remains relatively unchanged in the BMHS era. While the entrance morphed into a more formal space in the 1990s, walking past now triggers fond memories for Kingsmen.
Dance Favors
While so many of us went to our class ring dance, it was a casual date. Sure, there were the guys who barely wore their rings because they gave them to their steady girl. The majority of us took a date to the dance, had a great time, and created a fond memory. This is a prom favor representing the Cor Jesu Senior Rings. This specifically says, “Senior Prom.” I don’t know if CJ had a ring dance favor, but we did at BMHS in the 1970s. If anyone has one of those favors, please send me a photo of it!
Congratulations again to the BMHS Class of 2025, and blessings to the Kingsmen who passed their traditions on to these young men.
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