AUBURN - "Zelo Zelatus Sum Pro Domino Deo Exercituum" (I am on fire with zeal for the Lord God of hosts).

So reads the crest with a hand raised clenching a sword at the main entrance of what is now Seward Elementary School.

A crest so many have walked over in the last 50 years, many wondering where it came from or what it might mean.

Saturday, a piece of that meaning was revealed as members of Mt. Carmel High School gathered for an all-class reunion, beginning with a tour of their alma mater, starting at the crest.

The words and symbols of the crest were created by the Carmelite Order during the time of the Crusades and still stand at Seward Elementary as a reminder of the roots and rich history of the many people the passed through the school's halls.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first graduating class of the school, the class of 1958, and it marks the first time an effort has been made to have an all-class reunion, drawing together members of all the graduating classes of Mt. Carmel from 1958 up to 1973.

Mary Kinsella, of Syracuse and Martha (Scanlan) Petrosino, of Auburn, were among the more than 50 committee members that worked on making the reunion possible.

Read the full report in Sunday's edition of The Citizen.