Bishop O’Reilly High School’s Alma Mater
Raise a cheer, O Queensmen
Of Bishop O’Reilly High
Stand up for Alma Mater
Let her colors fly.
Gold of Christ’s great Kingship
Blazoned on Queen Mary’s blue
Bears our boast, O’Reilly
That we are your subjects true.
Ours to be your champion to
Guard with your mighty shield,
To bear our noble standards
In our chosen field.
Loyalty, love and honor:
These the debts we owe to you.
Hail to our high school,
Forever Gold and Blue.
As the years roll on, as we
Travel toward life’s goal,
With pride and joy we’ll cherish
Vict’ries won at school.
Courage, truth and justice,
These will be our battle cry.
So, live on in glory,
O Bishop O’Reilly High!
Bishop O’Reilly High School’s Coat of Arms
The division of the shield is by a saltire (an X) which is in the form of the initial letter and monogram of Christ in the Greek language. The most prominent place on the arms is given to the crescent, the lunar symbol of Our Lady under the title of the Immaculate Conception. It is under this title that the Blessed Virgin Mary is Patroness of the United States as well as of the school. This symbol is derived from the first verse of the twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse: “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.”
Bishop O’Reilly High School was established in 1954, the Marian Year, so called by His Holiness Pope Pius XII to honor our Blessed Mother on the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of her Immaculate Conception.
The torch of Liberty, held aloft in the hand of Miss Liberty on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, is the first sight which the immigrant sees as he/she enters the country which keeps burning the light of freedom for the whole world. The emblem appears in trinitarian number to suggest to the students their love of God, love of country, and love of their school. The three torches appear on triangles, in themselves ancient symbols of the Holy Trinity. The torch, symbolic of the words of our Lord: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven,’ signifies the grave and sacred duty of graduates of a Catholic school to give good example to their friends, associates, and to all with whom they come in contact.
The torch, an emblem of the light of learning, gives birth to flames which betoken the Virtue of Wisdom. It was on the Feast of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire as an external sign that these followers of Our Lord were filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, of which the first principle one is Wisdom.
The chief (upper compartment) displays the coat of arms of the Diocese of Scranton to designate the high school as one under the jurisdiction of this Diocese.
Above the shield, on a wreath of the colors, gold and blue, rides a ship, the Bark of Peter, a revered and ancient symbol of the Church. The mast bears a Chi-Rho, the monogram of Christ in the Greek language, which identifies Jesus Christ as the Head of the Mystical Body, the Church.
The motto “Ut Omnes Unum Sint” (John 17:2 1) is translated “That All May Be One” an inspired motto for a high school which unites students of parents of many tongues in the one holy faith and under the one glorious flag of the United States.
(The coat of arms was designed and described by Mr. William F. J. Ryan, New York, New York.)
Bishop O'Reilly/Central Catholic Alumni 