Manta Ray Battalion assists in celebrating St. Jude Fiesta

Saipan Southern High School’s Manta Ray Battalion assisted the St. Jude Parish in celebrating its annual fiesta.

The event took place last Oct 28 from 2pm to 8pm and Oct. 29 from 11am to 3:30pm. For both days, SSHS’ sabre team and road guard detail assisted their celebration.

On Saturday, cadets arrived early to prepare before the Mass began. In order to avoid any accidents or injuries, the road guard provided a safe pedestrian crossing for the attendees while wearing brightly colored vests.

The sabre team carried and ordered their sabres while the altar servers, bishops, and priests started to make their way to the altar around 5pm. The sabre team marched outside to order sabres and returned inside for Mass as soon as everyone reached the altar.

A procession was held later in the evening. There were cadets who helped carry the Santa Maria Kamalen image and Saint Jude image outside onto its respective carts.

Three pairs of the sabre team escorted the statues and the torches and walked around Koblerville. They came back to the church after 45 minutes and carried and ordered their sabres one last time and guarded the statues. The cadets who were carrying the images brought them back inside that evening.

On Sunday, the road guard detail directed traffic for the vehicles and pedestrians before Mass began. The sabre team again carried and ordered their sabres, just like on Saturday. Following the Mass, the road guard detail and sabre team gathered to provide meals to the attendees. In total, there were 30 cadets who helped with the event.

Rain or shine, Saipan Southern High School’s Manta Ray Battalion’s cadets performed extremely well and were proud to help St. Jude Parish Church in their celebration of their annual fiesta.

CSM Richard Basa, SSHS JROTC senior army instructor, thanked all the Manta Ray cadets for their participation and support for a job well done after the event.