NATCHEZ — When Addie Grace Netterville took to the lectern at St. Mary Basilica Friday night, she had a word to sum up how she’d achieved the status of salutatorian for Cathedral School’s Class of 2016 — “grace.”

“It is by the grace of God that I stand here,” she said.

Born premature, Netterville had an early brush with death, she said, and when she was diagnosed with a speech and language disability as a young child, doctors said the trouble would dog her throughout her life.

But despite the assurances of professionals, “that was untrue, according to God’s standards,” Netterville said, before telling her graduating classmates when faced with a challenge, “Do not accept the diagnosis.”

Each of the graduates has been appointed by God for a specific purpose, she said, and if they try to blend in with the crowd, it will only make them miserable in the long run.

“Fear no man,” Netterville said. “They can only hurt you if you allow them to do so.”

Thirty-nine other graduates joined Netterville in celebrating the completion of their time at Cathedral School. Of those, 11 were “A” honors graduates, while four were “B-plus” honors graduates.

When addressing her classmates, Valedictorian Dejá Morgan Harris gave them a sober charge — “prepare to fail.”

But failure is a part of life, she said, and failing is part of learning what to do — and what not to do — in life.

When they do fail, however, the graduates should not give up, but “pick up the pieces of the ‘coulds’ and ‘could haves’ and learn to move on,” Harris said.

But the graduates should also remember to be proud of who they are, she said, and “be strong and stand up for what we believe in; we must use the voices God gave us to change the world and ourselves to make a better future.”

Harris ended her remarks by saying that she hoped all her classmates, “remain beautiful and blessed people,” before doing something to help her remember who they were at graduation — she whipped out her phone and took a selfie with her classmates in the background.

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz reminded the graduates that the greatest commandment — to love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength — was a part of their spiritual formation while at Cathedral School.

Calling back the comments of the student speakers about being true to oneself, Kopacz said, “We can all be caught up in keeping up appearances — we are all such social people. But God sees the heart, and that’s why Jesus said to love God with all your heart, soul and strength.”

Perseverance is important, he said, and “If you fall down seven times, get up eight.”

Getting to graduation required a lot of love and support from others, he said, and that won’t change for the graduates or those who attended the commencement exercises.

“We need the love, support and care of others, as is evident this evening,” Kopacz said. “We are never on this journey alone. We are walking together.”