Bill Gargaro was able to find a piece of his past — and Vicksburg’s past — when he went halfway around the world to France.

On Thursday, the St. Aloysius graduate and his wife, Andrea, flew in to Vicksburg from Redondo Beach, Calif., to join nearly 900 former students and faculty to reunite and celebrate 150 years of Catholic education in Vicksburg.

A block party and football game Friday night kicked off a weekend-long list of events giving former classmates and old friends the chance to reminisce about their Catholic education that has evolved over the course of 150 years while sharing stories of their lives after they graduated from St. Al.

A 1956 graduate of the school when it was located on Clay Street, Gargaro found ties to Vicksburg when he visited France earlier this year.