Bishop Hendricken officially retired Kwity Paye’s No. 1 in the Pepin Gym on Monday afternoon.

The 2017 grad was an All-State player on the football team and helped guide the Hawks to three straight state titles. He went on to play for Michigan before being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Joining Paye on Monday was the Hendricken student body, administration, alumni, and of course, Paye and his family.

“It felt amazing to be back, walking through the old hallways, giving a message to the guys. I’m extremely honored to be here and get my jersey retired,” said Paye.

Paye’s journey began years ago when his family moved to Providence as refugees from Guinea. While with the Hawks, he promised his mother that he would make it to the NFL and make sure she never had to work again.

He would go on to be perhaps the best athlete to ever come out of the state and is among the top rising stars in the NFL.

“This was a special moment, not just for our school but for Rhode Island. Kwity has opened a lot of doors for a lot of kids in Rhode Island. He really proved that kids from Rhode Island can play at a high level,” said Hendricken coach Keith Croft.

Following the unveiling of his retired jersey, Paye stuck around for a Q&A with members of the football team and hopes that his story will motivate kids that are chasing similar dreams.

“I think just having my name up there will give pride and inspiration to those kids that come through here and want to be the next Kwity Paye. It’s a big task for me because now I need to be sure to provide the utmost character. I take that responsibility very strongly. To provide inspiration to the young kids coming up,” Paye said.

Hendricken athletic director Jamal Gomes was thrilled to see Paye back on campus speaking to students, and felt that Paye’s message was heard loud and clear.

“It’s just a tremendous day for Bishop Hendricken. We’re so proud, we’re so grateful, so blessed that Kwity came back home to us today. Extremely proud of Kwity and his family. It’s great because he’s so close in age to some of our guys. Our guys pay attention, they’re listening, paying attention, asking good questions. For us, it just reinforces the message that we’re delivering to our boys every single day. The message of doing things the right way,” said Gomes.

As Paye continues to climb the ranks in the NFL, Rhode Island will also look to continue its run of recent success between figures such Paye, Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics, among others from the state that have broken through on the professional scene.

Croft was proud of his former standout for being a strong representative of the program.

“I’d like to think that Bishop Hendricken was a small piece of that. We try to run our program like a college program. They’re coached hard and they’re pushed hard. There’s a lot more to our program than just playing,” said Croft.