Norwich — Saint Bernard School, a private, Catholic high school in Montville, held something of an unofficial graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020 on Tuesday afternoon at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick.

The school’s official graduation isn’t until later this month, but on Tuesday, the school had its 53 graduates put on their regalia and smile for the camera — the proceedings were taped and will be cut together in a video to resemble a more traditional graduation. On May 22, hundreds of students, teachers, parents and administrators will watch the recording during the virtual ceremony on Zoom.

Groups of eight to 10 students came to the cathedral in staggered groups. The event started at 1 p.m., and students went inside one at a time to be filmed walking between the pews and receiving their diploma covers (their official diplomas will be mailed to them in about a week). Headmaster Don Macrino met students near the altar. There were no handshakes, just words of encouragement as well as photos taken for the yearbook.

View a gallery of photos from the graduation exercises.

Rather than making sure students had their caps and gowns on and tassels in the right place in the basement of the church, as is customary, Director of Admissions Catherine Brown outfitted students with the proper clothing from the bed of a truck parked near the entrance.

“We tried to stay with the tradition of graduation,” Brown said. “With this graduation film, students with family who are far away, their families will be able to see them graduate live on May 22, and they’ll be sent a copy of the tape after the fact.”

Students and parents, many wearing masks, stood safe distances apart outside the church, leaving when their shift finished and it was time for a new group of graduates to participate. Students and families were able to take photos at the Monsignor King Memorial Park across the street. Several administrators stood outside the cathedral, as well, to make certain the people gathered were social distancing.

The Most Reverend Bishop Michael Cote, Macrino and the class orator, Sean Power, will give mostly prerecorded remarks on May 22. On Tuesday, after walking down the aisle, Power was videotaped delivering his graduation speech at the church’s lectern.

Macrino and school admissions director Kim Hodges said it took much discussion to find this way of honoring the graduating seniors. Hodges said the school considered moving graduation back but some of the seniors had commitments and wouldn’t be able to attend.

Schools throughout the region are struggling with the question of how best to hold graduation ceremonies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cathedral will not be full for this year’s Saint Bernard graduation — it was mostly empty on Tuesday except for a few administrators, the film crew and a photographer — but soon-to-be-graduates experienced at least a modicum of the usual pomp and circumstance ahead of their virtual ceremony.

s.spinella@theday.com