Homecoming blessings: Of the animals, of the hands and of the alums

This year’s homecoming weekend offered many exciting events for alumni and students, from a 55-year reunion to a 5K fun run on Oct. 2-4.

According to Renee Wall, senior director of alumni, community engagement, and annual giving, in planning homecoming weekend, they try to strike a balance between events that appeal to alumni and students. 

“We try to find something that would be interesting for both, so that we can get the alumni to mix with the students,” said Wall. “That’s what they like to see as well, is to come back and be like, ‘Oh, those students are so cute, they’re so wonderful, or they’re just like us.’” 

One such event was the annual Nursing Hand Blessing Ceremony that took place in the All Saints Chapel on Friday, Oct. 2. The ceremony was attended by both current nursing students and alumni from the original Carroll St. James and Vincent School of Nursing Program of 1966. 

After the hand blessing ceremony, in a celebration of St. Francis of Assisi, Father Tyler blessed the animals of Carroll at the fountain outside of the Cube and Borromeo Hall. 

Alumni from the class of ’71 also made their way back to Helena for homecoming weekend, for an unusual 55-year reunion. 

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Michael Tam ‘71 returned to China after graduation. Around the time that planning began for Homecoming & Family Weekend, he reached out to Carroll to organize a reunion, as he would soon be visiting the states.

Eventually, the reunion developed into “Traditions,” a panel exploring different components of the relationship between the United States and China that was accessible to students and alumni alike during the weekend. 

The idea for the panel developed in conversation with another classmate, and they reached out to Wall’s office for help in organizing the event in addition to the reunion. From there, Wall explained, it was sort of a chain of contact from one person to the next. 

Carroll reached out to former Montana Senator and ambassador to China Max Baucus to speak on the panel, and the event took place at 4 p.m. in the Lower Cube on Friday, Oct. 2. 

The panel featured Tam, who provided perspective on the traditions of the Chinese people, Helena-based lawyer Bill Driscoll, who discussed the legal aspects of international trade and tariffs, and Senator Baucus, who spoke on the political and governmental dimensions.

The first day of Homecoming weekend closed with the opening performance of “Firebringer,” Carroll’s fall show, which was shown a total of three times over the weekend. 

While Wall acknowledged that the Homecoming football game is “the driver” for Homecoming, the college tries to showcase the whole of Carroll, including the arts. 

“We always try to have something that’s either academics or the arts involved with homecoming because most people think it’s just about a football game, and it’s not,” said Wall. “We really want to invite people to more than just one type of thing here.” 

Alongside highlighting the theatrical performances, one of the ways that Wall tries to share the spotlight is by marrying athletics and the wider community through events like the Alumni and Family Tailgate, both of which took place on Saturday, Oct. 3.

The Alumni and Family Tailgate is one of a few special tailgates that Wall’s office plans throughout the year. With good food, conversation, and excitement for everyone, it helped to build anticipation for the Homecoming football game against Arizona Christian at 6 p.m. 

The Saints football team came out strong, dominating Arizona Christian with 52 points scored in the first half. With such a large cushion, many younger players had the opportunity to gain experience on the field, making the game a true showcase of the whole Carroll football team. 

The game finished with a triumphant score of 73-0, the largest shutout victory for Carroll since 1927 – nearly a century. It is also the largest margin of victory in a shutout since the Fighting Saints joined the Frontier Conference in the mid-1930s, and the most points scored in any Frontier Conference game since 2014. 

Halftime featured the bed race, a Carroll tradition in which four students each take up a corner of a mattress and carry a student across the field on it. The teams represented in this year’s race were from the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes, with the ROTC team representing faculty and staff. 

ROTC ultimately won another year. 

The 2026 Homecoming Royalty were also unveiled during halftime. Business major Tim Ridgeway, who is from Buffalo, Montana, and Ava Krings, a bio-med student from Conrad, Montana, were named Prince and Princess of the freshman class; bio-med major from Red Lodge, Montana, William Oley, and health science major from Montpelier, Idaho, Addison Slivinski, were Prince and Princess of the sophomore class; biology major form Whitefish, Montana, Jackson Dorvall and biology major from Logan, Utah, Lydia McCulloch were Prince and Princess of the junior class, and philosophy major from North Augusta, South Carolina, Sean Monaco and environmental science major from Littleton, Colorado, Tess Guerrera were crowned the Senior King and Queen of Homecoming. 

Homecoming & Family Weekend closed out with an opportunity for reflection and prayer, as students, alumni, staff, and families gathered for a 9 a.m. mass in the All Saints Chapel.