McMECHEN — After three years as a Bishop, Olivia Carte will soon be a Maroon Knight. Many of her friends will end their high school careers as Monarchs and Cadets.

Carte joined with classmates at St. Jude Park Friday afternoon, to celebrate their love for the green and gold after attending their final day of classes at Bishop Donahue High School. Citing low enrollment, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston decided in January to close the school at the end of the academic year.

“It was really tough especially at the end of the day,” Carte said. “School ended around 11:15 a.m. and we didn’t leave until about 1:30 p.m. because we were just sitting at our desks thinking about all the memories we’ve had.”

Bishop Donahue’s Booster Club hosted a picnic to commemorate the high school’s legacy at the Glen Dale park Friday afternoon. During the event, students, parents, staff and gathered for a meal and played baseball and other games in a nearby field.

Carte’s mother, Kim Fletcher, had two daughters graduate from the school and expressed sadness that Carte will not have the same chance.

“These kids have struggled this entire last semester. Academically, kids are being hurt because their minds are consumed with what’s going on, and it shouldn’t be that way. It hurts,” Fletcher said. “I’m proud of our students for standing by what the school has taught them.”

Another junior parent, Anna Lehew, was active in the Save Bishop Donahue Foundation which formed in response to the announcement of the school’s closure. She said the diocese’s actions have made some people lose faith in the organization.

“It’s not that people just don’t want to give money, they don’t want to be a body in the pews to count at this point,” Lehew said. “The takeaway is that as Catholics in the diocese, if we don’t start standing up for what is right, then it’s always going to be wrong. The underlying message is that we weren’t really just fighting for a school but for our faith.”

Fellow parent Christy Beveridge said she believes the diocese has the means to keep Bishop Donahue open, citing the announcement this week that the diocese is purchasing Wheeling Jesuit University’s assets.

“If you have enough money to bail out Wheeling Jesuit, you’ve got enough money to bail out a Catholic school, especially when you’re depending on your Catholic students to go and keep that enrollment up at Wheeling Jesuit.”

Soon-to-be senior Nate Rush will be attending The Linsly School to complete high school this fall. Others will attend Wheeling Central, John Marshall or other high schools next year.

“It’s something we can’t really explain unless people went to Bishop. It’s something we can all relate to,” Rush said. “I only have one year left, so you just have to pick what’s right for you and what’s going to help you move forward, where we will be able to apply what we’ve learned at Bishop and make a difference. It stinks that we all have to split up, but it was good for us to get together today and put everything aside to spend one last day together.”