Top dignitaries attend the 'miracle' of Cristo Rey Atlanta

January 30,2018

Source: Maria Saporta, Atlanta Business Chronicle

Cristo Rey Atlanta on Tuesday officially dedicated its signature building on the city’s skyline.

Top dignitaries – Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms among others – attended the “miracle” of Cristo Rey Atlanta – a Jesuit high school that will graduate its first class in May.

Deal thanked all the people and institutions that led to Cristo Rey being able to dedicate its new downtown building, but he reminded the audience why they were there.

“Turn around and look at these students,” Deal said as the enthusiastic students cheered.

Cristo Rey Atlanta is part of a network of 32 schools around the country that offer a unique educational experience for students with financial and social challenges. Students have jobs while they are going to school. And virtually all of Cristo Rey’s graduates go on to get a college education.

Jahari Fraser, a senior who is the 2017/2018 student council president, is no exception. As one of the dedication ceremony’s emcees, Fraser told the audience he was headed to Bard College, where he will study computer sciences and human rights.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory, the Archdiocese of Atlanta, said the idea for the high school hit him the moment he landed in Atlanta on Dec. 8, 2004.

“I knew as the plane touched down that Atlanta needed a Cristo Rey,” Gregory told the gathering in the schools new gym and assembly area. “Today we celebrate all these people who have come together. I thank everyone who helped make this possible – Catholics and non-Catholics.”

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