Jan. 19, 2016
The Catholic University of America and the Dominican House of Studies, in association with the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), will kick off the second semester of the academic year and National Catholic Schools Week at the annual University Mass on the patronal feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas. It will be broadcast live on EWTN and CatholicTV.
The Mass will be held Thursday, Jan. 28, in the Great Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 12:10 p.m. Catholic University classes are cancelled from 11:50 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. to allow students, faculty, and staff to attend the Mass. Nearby Catholic schools are invited to attend the Mass in anticipation of National Catholic Schools Week, which will be celebrated Sunday, Jan. 31, through Saturday, Feb. 6.
This year, Most Rev. George V. Murry, S.J., bishop of Youngstown, Ohio; chairman of the NCEA Board of Directors; and chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Catholic Education, will be the principal celebrant of the University Mass. Very Rev. John Langlois, O.P., president, and Rev. Thomas Petri, O.P., vice president, of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies, will serve as principal concelebrants.
Rev. Peter John Cameron, O.P., editor-in-chief of Magnificat , will be homilist. Father Cameron holds an M.F.A. in playwriting from Catholic University. The February edition of Magnificat will be distributed after the Mass free of charge to all in attendance.
The Dominican House of Studies Schola along with students from Catholic University will serve as the choir. This marks the fourth time that Catholic University has invited NCEA (www.ncea.org) to join in this Mass. National Catholic Schools Week, founded in 1974, is a project of NCEA. The theme of this year's National Catholic Schools Week is Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service. Harry J. Dudley and Barbara McCrabb of the USCCB's Office of the Secretariat of Catholic Education also will attend the Mass.
For more information on National Catholic Schools Week, visit www.ncea.org/our-services/catholic-schools-week . For more information on The Catholic University of America, visit www.cua.edu .