Maria Chagaris, 16, will accomplish a lifelong dream on Friday at Epiphany, when she will be St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral's "dove bearer."

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  • Announcement made at Christmas Eve mass

During the annual celebration of Jesus's baptism by John the Baptist, the dove bearer releases a dove into the sky before the boys dive into water to retrieve the wooden cross.

"In the Bible reading, it’s in the form of the dove, and it kind of signifies that the Holy Spirit is among us and we are all protected and we have nothing to worry about,” Chagaris said.

Chagaris said she has wanted to be the dove bearer since she was a little girl, watching other women release the dove.

"I saw her holding the dove, and she just looked so happy, and I thought this is something I want to do. I am just amazingly blessed to be able to do this,” Chagaris said.

The church announced Chagaris would be this year’s dove bearer at Christmas Eve mass last month.

"[The priest] announced it, and I immediately lost all feeling,” Chagaris said. “I wasn’t sure how to feel. I held back so many emotions. I just walked up there, and everything went by so fast."

The priest also gave Chagaris a dove necklace. She said she will wear it Friday, along with the traditional gown that is passed down from one dove bearer to the next.