(KAIR)--Atchison's Maur Hill-Mount Academy, heading toward the end of the school year and student graduation, has named its 2025 Commencement Speaker.

Chosen for the role of honor is Jason Shanks, President of the National Eucharistic Congress.

A release from the school calls Shanks "a visionary leader and passionate advocate for young Catholics," who, in July of last year, was one of the two who led Catholics from across the country on four Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes, the west route of which passed through Atchison, where students from the Catholic high school helped lead the pilgrimage across the Missouri River, enroute to Indianapolis, Indiana, the location of what the release calls "the largest National Eucharistic Congress in the history of the United States."

Maur Hill-Mount Academy President David Trotter, in the release, says Shanks' leadership and tireless witness are a powerful example of what our graduates strive to become."

Shanks, the release says, "has extensive leadership experience through his roles as Executive Director of OSV Institute, Catholic Charities, the Diocesan Evangelization Office, and a Consultant to the USCCB on Religious Liberty," adding that he is "a devoted husband, father of five, and mentor who believes that today- youth have the power to shape a better future."

Shanks will address Maur Hill-Mount Academy's 42 graduates during the school- Commencement Ceremonies of Sunday, May 18.

Graduation will begin that morning with the Baccalaureate Mass at 9:00 celebrated at Mount St. Scholastica Chapel, followed by the Commencement Ceremony at 11:00 in the Maur Hill-Mount Academy Haverty Gymnasium.