Archbishop Charles C. Thompson presided over the senior mass on Wednesday October 26. Religion teacher Mr. Katie Lewis can remember celebrating the senior mass every year since she started in 2008 up until the pandemic. She said, “We went last year but it was only a small select group, I think there were about 14 students. 2020 I think it was cancelled and so the last full-blown (senior mass) would have been December of 2019.”

Despite the long history, to Senior Zach Hopkins though, the Mass came out of the blue. That December 2019 Mass would have been Zach’s freshman year. He said, “I guess I had never really heard anybody talking about it until about a week beforehand.”

Scheduling conflicts meant that some students who signed up for senior retreat did not get the chance to go the the mass. Lewis said, “The hard part is that Cathedral is so busy that when (the archdiocese) told us the date a couple months ago, we’d already planned a senior retreat months ago, almost a year ago.”

For those who were fortunate enough to be there, the mass served a powerful reminder of the power of our common Faith. Lewis said, “I think it’s a good sign of the unity within our schools, our common belief. A lot of times when we’re seeing these schools it’s against them. It’s an athletic event whether it’s tennis or soccer or track, so it’s neat to come together as one and be united in a way.”

On a similar track, Hopkins said, “I think Mass has a way of bringing people together, and there will always be those who are disconnected from it or laughing at something that happens, but for those that are religious or like to participate in Mass, I think there is always a sense, even if you don’t know the people, the pride in being in the archdiocese and this group that can experience the same location and education together.”

While acknowledging the difficulties of providing for 1,100 kids, Mrs. Lewis said, “I would love if in the future there was some sort of fellowship afterwards so the schools could mingle, they could get to know each other.”

Zach also mentioned that some further activity between the schools would be nice. He said, “I think it was a really cool experience but if I had to change one thing it would be that there was activities for the schools to participate in afterwards.” 

As deep rooted traditions reestablish themselves after the pandemic, perhaps it is easier to recognize the potential of what was long taken for granted. Perhaps it is possible to heal back stronger.