The St. Mary’s University Class Ring

An Enduring Symbol of Achievement and Tradition

The official University ring – the Rattler Ring – designed specifically for St. Mary’s students and alumni features treasured images of traditions and the Marianist charism.

Images honor the Society of Mary’s inspiration and the University’s namesake, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The seal’s interlocking “A” and “M” (“Ave, Maria”) are framed by olive branches representing Our Lady of Peace. Our Lady of Grace stands at the front of campus, welcoming all. The sunburst appearing behind St. Lous Hall is from Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral in Zaragoza, Spain, where Blessed Chaminade prayed daily and envisioned the Society of Mary.

Marianists arrived in San Antonio in 1852 to begin the St. Mary’s enterprise. It was the brothers’ first foray into Texas, and the Lone Star figures prominently in our seal, as does the year of our founding. The five-pointed star also represents Mary.

Because of crowding downtown, St. Louis College – now called St. Louis Hall – opened for boarders in 1894. The college sat majestically in the countryside northwest of San Antonio. Around that lone edifice, a campus grew. St. Louis Hall still proudly stands as St. Mary’s first – and signature – building.

A grove of pecan trees on campus became a place for students to gather, relax and enjoy nature. The Pecan Grove remains the center of the Alumni Association’s Homecoming Oyster Bake (“Baby Bake”), held since 1916, and its huge scholarship fundraiser, Oyster Bake, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016 as a favorite Fiesta San Antonio event. An oyster and pearl are hidden on the ring.

Traditions began. The rattlesnake became the school’s mascot because students had to clear fields of them before game time. (There’s a bit of “snakeskin” on your ring.) School colors were picked in the 1920s(?) and Rattler teams continue to wear the gold and blue proudly. The University’s magazine is the Gold & Blue.

Barrett Memorial Bell Tower, funded by Charles T. Barrett Jr. (B.B.A. ’60) and his family, pays homage to Barrett’s mother’s favorite movie, “The Bells of St. Mary’s.” The movie’s song of the same name is the tune to which Brother Louis Schuster, S.M., wrote the lyrics to our Alma Mater. The Tower’s bells peal daily when, around the world, The Marianists Three O’clock Prayer is recited.

The cross in the St. Mary’s logo signifies our four goals of education – To educate and assist St. Mary’s students (and alumni) in: the challenge of living as an authentic human being; one’s personal, social and institutional relationships; one’s embeddedness in and relation to nature; one’s relation to the transcendent reality of God.

This ring represents your hard work, dedication and achievement at St. Mary’s. It will be personalized with your graduation year and degree. There is also space for engraving on the inside band.

Wear your ring proudly – it connects you with your classmates and past and future alumni and identifies you as a distinguished member of the St. Mary’s University family.

To place an order
Call 1-866-225-3687 weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CST) or online at www.balfour.com/stmu.