Excited chatter turned to reverent silence in Catholic high school auditoriums across the Diocese during the past week as students participated in Masses of the Holy Spirit with South Jersey’s bishops.
Bishop Dennis Sullivan and Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Williams visited Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill; Gloucester Catholic High School, Gloucester City; Holy Spirit High School, Absecon; Paul VI High School, Haddonfield, and Wildwood Catholic Academy, Wildwood, from Sept. 20-25 to start off the academic year with a Mass, followed by school tours, camaraderie and some good-natured fun.
“Moments like this help strengthen our school community’s sense of belonging within the broader Catholic tradition,” said Michael McGhee, Holy Spirit High School’s principal. “For our students, faculty, and guests, it also provided an opportunity to witness their faith’s leadership in a tangible way, reinforcing their spiritual identity.”
Lauren DeLano, a junior at Camden Catholic High School, shared her excitement not only for the first school-wide Mass of the year, but getting to see Bishop Sullivan and Coadjutor Bishop Williams. “Anytime we get to celebrate together as a school is amazing, and to have Bishop Sullivan and Bishop Williams here was a truly wonderful experience.”
In his homilies, Bishop Sullivan reminded the students of the reason for the Mass of the Holy Spirit. “We gather as a school community for prayer. The prayer of the Mass, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. In the Holy Eucharist, He is truly, really present.”
“I hope you students appreciate how lucky you are that your parents send you to a school where you can pray, where you can talk to God,” Bishop Sullivan added.
After sharing a short history on the Mass of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Sullivan shared two strong messages for the young audiences to reflect on as they begin their school year – learning and hope.
“At this Mass, we pray to the Holy Spirit for success at learning for each of you,” Bishop Sullivan told the students, pointing to several areas where learning is important, including the classroom, extracurricular activities, athletics and service. “That is the work for which we pray for success for each of you.”
He also pointed to the virtue of hope, saying, “The symbol of hope is an anchor. … Jesus Christ is our anchor. He holds us steady in the face of all the turbulence we deal with. He keeps us from going astray. He prevents us from drowning when life gets challenging and we experience lots of changes.”
This message of hope resonated with Camden Catholic sophomore Finn Mazzola, who attend the Mass and shared in refreshments afterward. “Sometimes when doing homework, it feels like a very hopeless endeavor. It is important to take time to pray, think about what is going on and remember Algebra 2 won’t last forever, but God will.”
More photos of the Bishops’ visits to Catholic Schools
Bishop Sullivan concluded each homily with a special prayer for the school year. “May the Holy Spirit, the living God, be present to each of you in the learning with which each of you will be involved during the academic year. May the Lord hold you steady, keep you safe from all harm, and may each of you grow in soul, mind and body.”
After each Mass, Bishop Sullivan and Coadjutor Bishop Williams sat down with students from various student councils to hear about the first few weeks of school and share stories about themselves. The discussions ranged from their vocation stories, their tenures as priests and bishops, and for Bishop Williams, getting acclimated to his new home in South Jersey.
“I loved to see how they connected with the students on a personal level,” Gianna Cianfrani, a junior at Paul VI High School, said of meeting the bishops. “In any other environment, we talk to them strictly about religion and what is going on in the Diocese. It was great to get to know them on a school level. They can really get to know who we are as people and students.”
For Camden Catholic’s DeLano, the opportunity to meet both bishops together was a “really beautiful” experience. “I have grown up in the Camden Diocese school system. So, you always hear about the great works Bishop Sullivan has done. So, getting to, for the first time, sit down and hear him talk was really amazing. And meeting Bishop Williams was really exciting, getting to see the future of our Diocese.”
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