By Mariana Barillas
The campus community gathered for today’s Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, an annual celebration of the beginning of the academic year at The Catholic University of America. The liturgy was broadcast live on EWTN and livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory, archbishop of Washington and University chancellor, was the principal celebrant and homilist. University Chaplain and Vice President for Ministry and Mission Father Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, Basilica Rector and University Trustee Monsignor Walter Rossi, Canon Law School Dean Monsignor Ronny Jenkins, and Theological College Rector Gladstone Stevens, PSS, were among the concelebrants.
The Mass of the Holy Spirit is traditionally celebrated to ask for guidance, wisdom, and inspiration for the year’s endeavors. During the homily, Cardinal Gregory explained the transformative effect of the Holy Spirit’s grace in all aspects of our lives.
“When we summon the Holy Spirit into our lives, He comes with full force to help us with all the challenges we might face,” said Cardinal Gregory. This year, His Eminence prayed especially for the Spirit to inspire healing and harmony among all peoples.
“Ours is a special request for the graces that only God’s spirit can provide for our country and every heart,” said Cardinal Gregory.
The Catholic University of America, as the national university of the Catholic Church in the United States, is the only institution in the country with ecclesiastical faculties granting canonical degrees in three disciplines: canon law, philosophy, and theology.
During the Mass, five new faculty members from the School of Philosophy and the School of Theology and Religious Studies — Giacomo Fornasieri, Joseph Wood, Jonathan Martin Ciraulo, Katja Hess, and Brother Thomas Piolata, OFM.Cap. — received canonical authorization to teach in the name of the Church.
After the Mass, University President Peter Kilpatrick shared his reflections of the Mass as a renewal of the community’s commitment to the highest calling of higher education. He spoke of this July’s National Eucharistic Congress — of which the University was a premier sponsor — and his joy in seeing a similar shared spirit of thanksgiving, prayer, and worship at the Mass of the Holy Spirit.
“We experience that same unity here today, unity we beg the Holy Spirit to give us as we begin this year,” he said. “Let us support one another in following Him Who is the Truth, and Who makes us one with Him and the Father, by submitting ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
Take a deeper dive into the meaning of the Mass of the Holy Spirit at The Catholic University of America.
