As she walked to Ward Hall across a campus that was still mostly calm, viola player Megan DiGeorgia, who graduated in 2015, said she was still in a state of disbelief that she would be playing for a papal Mass in only a few hours.

Members of the CUA Symphony Orchestra are seen in Ward Hall hours before the Papal Mass.

“It’s such an amazing experience,” she said. “It still hasn’t quite hit me how big of a deal this is. I think my brain knows it, but I don’t know if I’m going to really understand it for a little while.”

DeGeorgia was also excited that the Pope would come to her own University campus.

“It’s so special for the people who are here right now,” she said. “As musicians, our goal for today is to glorify God through the gifts we’ve been given.”

Christine Laird, a master’s student and member of the chamber choir, was walking toward Ward Hall at the same time. She said she also had a hard time comprehending what the day would be like.

“We’ve been rehearsing for several weeks, but I don’t think we quite get the magnitude of it,” she said. “I don’t think it will be until it’s all put together, when all the people are here, that we will finally understand and see what we are singing for. It’s going to be really overwhelming.”

Downstairs in Ward Hall, a trio of brass players were retrieving their instruments and warming up in the piano lab.

Junior Matthew Fitzsimmons, a trumpet player, said he felt honored and excited to be playing a role in today’s papal Mass.

“It’s hard to believe that it’s actually happening,” he said. “I’ve never been part of something this big. It’s a huge honor.”

Freshman Christopher Gillie, a french horn player, was also warming up before the Mass, which more than 25,000 people are expected to attend.

“This is definitely nerve-wracking,” he said. “This is the largest audience I’ll probably ever play for — probably the largest audience anyone here will ever play for.”

Having only started college a month ago, Gillie said the rehearsals for the papal Mass were a great way to meet other students, alumni, and local musicians.

“I didn’t know I’d have this opportunity,” he said. “It’s a pretty cool way to start my college career.”

Faculty member Eric Moore, who teaches french horn, was also eagerly awaiting the day’s Mass. A former member of the U.S. Navy Band, Moore said he has played for presidents and other government officials in the past, but that playing for a pope is unique.

“I came up here on the Metro and saw people who have come from long distances for this,” Moore said. “As a musician, this is different. It’s not like playing for a military or political figure. This is something bigger than that and more inspiring than that.”

Student volunteers label chairs for Wednesday’s papal Mass.

As musicians — including the CUA Symphony Orchestra and the University Chamber Choir — practice their pieces on a side stage, reporters from local and national television stations are readying their camera equipment on top of the newly-constructed media riser in front of John K. Mullen of Denver Library. Faculty experts have been speaking with the media, including President John Garvey, who joined reporter Lester Holt from NBC Nightly News for an interview on the roof of O’Connell Hall.

The liturgical committee is in high gear at the Basilica, preparing the altar, hanging the crucifix, and preparing tens of thousands of communion wafers — including a low-gluten variety — for tomorrow’s Mass.

Elsewhere on campus, students are navigating new routes as they walk between classes, which are still in session. In addition to the large number of bike racks put in place earlier this month for security reasons, students now face new obstacles: rows of porta-potties, ATMs, and quickly constructed food and souvenir stands.

Many students have been finding time during the day to investigate the scene on the University Mall, where 15,000 seats have been set up and numbered in preparation for the canonization Mass.

Student Victor Esposito is seen with his tickets to view Pope Francis’s address to Congress from the Capital.

In the early afternoon, students lined up at the information desk in the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center, where the office of Jon Sawyer, associate vice president for student affairs and the dean of students, was distributing 700 tickets for students to view the Pope’s address to a joint meeting of Congress from the West Front of the Capital. The tickets were awarded to the University from the House of Representatives.

Freshman Briana Marcinauskis was among the students who received a ticket to the Capital.

“I was going back and forth (on whether I wanted the tickets) because I know I’m going to be so tired, but then I thought, ‘It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said. “I got down (to the Pryzbyla Center) and they had five left so I grabbed two of them.”

Walking around campus the day before Pope Francis’s visit is “a little overwhelming,” Marcinauskis said. “Hearing all the music all day has been crazy, but people are really excited.”

Last Day Preps & Rehearsal from CUA Video on Vimeo.

As a nonprofit, SOME provides food and support to the poor and homeless in Washington, D.C. According to the organization’s website, there are 7,298 homeless men, women, and children living in D.C. SOME serves them by offering affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment, and mental health counseling.

Members of the Symphony Orchestra perform at SOME (So Others Might Eat) Sept. 19.

On Saturday, the orchestra performed two pieces for the clients in the SOME dining room, as clients were eating lunches of chicken and rice. Works performed included Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony No. 4, first movement, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, fourth movement.

University faculty Simeone Tartaglione, director of the orchestra, said the event was intended to help students prepare spiritually for the papal visit.
“Pope Francis is really an inspiration for us,” Tartaglione said. “He inspired us to bring the pieces we’re going to do for him to the people who won’t be there.

“As a Catholic institution, we should remind our students that life has different conditions and that it’s not a matter of fault or guilt,” he said. “This is something we can do. We can be a sign, plant a seed in somebody maybe to help them look for something better.”

Violinist Shinya Blattmann, who is pursuing her master’s degree in performance, said she is thrilled at the opportunity to play during Wednesday’s papal Mass.
“I think it’s going to be a highlight of my life,” she said.

For her, playing at SOME was a good reminder of her own blessings.

“We can go to the Kennedy Center or to a concert anytime we want, but they can’t do that,” she said. “It’s nice to play for them and to see them happy.”

Likewise, violinist Aurora Wheeland, a student in the school of law, said she was happy to bring classical music to people who may not ordinarily have access.

“A lot of times, people think of classical music as kind of an elitist thing, but it’s meant to be shared with everybody,” she said. “I find that everybody can respond to classical music, whether it’s their favorite kind of music or they’ve never been exposed to it before. It’s really powerful.”

David Peterson, a first-year doctoral student in conducting, will be one of the cover conductors for Wednesday’s papal Mass. He said the concert at SOME was a way for the musicians to connect with those in need in the local community.

“If we can give this music to people and even one person can dream for half an hour, then it’s worth it for me,” he said. “Everyone is here because they want to be here. Our call time this morning was 10 a.m. and people were at the School of Music at 9:30 ready to go.”

David Bond, who is earning his master’s in conducting, has been working as the manager of the orchestra in preparation for the papal Mass. Over the past few weeks, he said he has enjoyed making arrangements and seeing the alumni who have come back to play in the orchestra. He said the concert at SOME was a good opportunity for the musicians to share their gifts with those in need.

“These people need food of course, but I think they also need beauty and art and music in their lives,” he said. “The Pope is so invested in the lives of the lowest of the low and in my opinion, playing beautiful music is a way to help them that is right up there with feeding them. Everyone has their gift to give.”

SOME Music Concert from CUA Video on Vimeo.

Professor Simeone Tartaglione is conductor of the orchestra, which is composed of 40 students, faculty, and alumni. The orchestra began rehearsals on Sept. 3.

Dr. Leo Nestor, conductor of the University Chamber Choir, leads a rehearsal in Ward Hall.

“Even with the limited number of rehearsals we had, everyone stepped up to the challenge and prepared for a wonderful performance, inspired by the shining personality of Pope Francis,” said Tartaglione.

Professor Leo Nestor, who will be conducting the orchestra and chamber choir of 28 singers during the Mass, said he is looking forward to Wednesday’s papal Mass. Prior to the Mass, his choir will have had only three weeks of rehearsals.

“It really puts the responsibility on us to prove what kinds of musicians we are,” Nestor said. “Having a beautiful voice is important, but if you can’t pick up this piece of music and sing it beautifully the first time then we are not doing our job as professors. Those who are performing at this Mass, a single sophomore through senior doctoral students, alumnae and faculty, are among our very finest.”

Among the pieces to be performed during Wednesday’s Mass are three compositions by Nestor, including the introit, the communion antiphon, and an original work that will be performed during the communion rite, “I Am the Living Bread.”

“It’s the fourth time I’ve been commissioned to write for the Holy Father when he has come to the United States,” said Nestor. Previously he has composed pieces for Pope John Paul II’s visits to Los Angeles in 1984 and to St. Louis in 1999, as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Washington, D.C., in 2008.

“We could not be more honored,” Nestor said, adding that CUA musicians are most moved to join with Pope Francis in celebrating the Eucharist. “He’s coming to break bread with us, to preside at the Eucharist, which is what Jesus Christ commanded us to do every day of our lives. It’s both durable and exceptional.”

Tartaglione also said he is “extremely honored and fortunate” to have a part in the papal Mass.

Musicians from the Symphony Orchestra who will be performing during the Canonization Mass rehearse together Sept. 17.

“It’s really touching that I will be welcoming with the prelude the Pope to the States. After living in Rome for so many years, it’s really very emotional in many way bringing together my past, present and future. For me as a Catholic he is an inspiration in our daily life on how relate to others and try to make the world a better place for all.” he said. “I’m sharing all my passion and knowledge with the players so to work together making everything sound as beautiful as the importance of the event and Pope Francis deserves.”

Prior to the papal Mass, the orchestra will give two concerts for the clients of the interfaith community-based organization SOME (So Others Might Eat) on Saturday, Sept. 19. Concerts will take place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will include pieces to be performed during the canonization Mass, including Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony No. 4, first movement, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, fourth movement.

“Performing in that setting will be thought provoking for us and helpful to the persons using the facility,” Tartaglione said. “I thought it was a nice gesture to bring what we are doing for the most important person in the Catholic religion to people who may not be the first priority in society.”

> Watch rehearsal video

Father Eric de la Pena, associate chaplain for the University, was the celebrant for the Mass, which honored Our Lady of Sorrows.

“In the spirit of Blessed Junípero Serra, who embraced another culture out of love for Christ, I think this sensitizes us to the reality that we have neighbors who may not speak our language,” he said. “I think it’s more than just getting familiar with the prayers. The experience of meeting another culture widens your world and widens your vision of life. Our prayers become richer by involving other cultures.”

Father Eric de la Pena, associate chaplain, celebrates a Mass in Spanish Sept. 15.

Those who attended the Mass also had the opportunity to venerate a first-class relic of Junípero Serra: a piece of his bone. Father de la Pena obtained the relic for his personal collection after writing to the Shrine of Blessed Junípero Serra in Carmel, Calif.

“When you look at a picture of the saint, you almost feel like they are three feet above the ground, but the relics give us a sense that they were flesh and bone just like us and give us a sense of hope,” Father de la Pena said. “As a sacramental of the Church, they remind us of everything good that God has promised to us, that even in our frailty as human beings we can aspire to something good as these holy men and women.”

Senior Maria Thurber, a theology and Spanish major from St. Petersburg Fla., is a member of the Spanish Club, which worked with Campus Ministry to organize the Mass. As a heritage Spanish speaker — her mother is from Ecuador — she said she’s excited that the Mass honoring Junípero Serra will be in Spanish.

“I feel very proud that the first Latin American pope is going to come and do a Mass in Spanish,” she said. “For students, there will be nothing better than going to the Mass, knowing what they’re saying so they feel more a part of it. The language barrier won’t exist, or at least it won’t be so harsh.”

This summer, Thurber was in Ecuador during Pope Francis’s visit to Latin America. During her time there, she attended a papal Mass and held a sign that said, “Pope Francis, I’ll C-U Sept. 23 at Catholic University.”

“To see him there, it just made us Latin Americans all so proud,” she said. “The Catholic faith is so important to us, so to have our pope speak Spanish is just unbelievable.”

Students will have another opportunity to attend a Spanish language Mass on Sept. 22. That Mass, which will honor Our Lady of Mercy, will begin at 5:10 p.m. in Caldwell Chapel. Those present will once again have the opportunity to venerate the relic of Blessed Junípero Serra.

Several students spoke about the growing excitement around campus in the weeks leading up to Pope Francis’s visit.

“I went to Rome last fall and I got to see Pope Francis while I was there, but to have him come to us instead of going to him is just an amazing thing,” said senior Anne Ahlering. “I think it’s going to bring a lot of life to this campus as well as to all the people who are coming and traveling here. It’s going to be a blessed time.”

“The campus is kind of crazy right now trying to get ready for this, but everyone is really excited to have him here,” said senior Katie Fournier. “It’s definitely an honor.”

Both Ahlering and Fournier said they have been coming to the Mass of the Holy Spirit each year they’ve spent at the University. Now they are looking forward to participating in the #WalkwithFrancis initiative.

“I think it’s great because it brings to life what we’re being called to do,” said Fournier. “We should already be doing these things — praying, serving, and acting, and just sharing the truth that we’ve learned and we’ve studied through this campus. It’s definitely a good push, like, ‘Let’s recommit ourselves to this mission.’”

The Mass, which took place in the Great Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, is held annually at the opening of the school year. This year’s celebrant was Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington and University chancellor, who asked God to invoke the gifts of the Holy Spirit on the University community to strengthen and guide students, faculty, and staff throughout the 2015-16 academic year.

In anticipation of Pope Francis’s upcoming visit to the Basilica and the University, Cardinal Wuerl encouraged students to prepare themselves spiritually by working to make a difference in their community.

Faculty members dressed in full academic regalia attend this year’s Mass of the Holy Spirit.

“Pope Francis challenges us to be ‘missionary disciples,’” he said. “We are not bystanders but rather participants in the great human endeavor to make of this world a better place.

“There is a sense in which each one of us has to make that call and anointing in the Holy Spirit our own,” Cardinal Wuerl said. “This is what Pope Francis asks us to do. We are challenged to take the love and mercy of God and share it with others.”

The cardinal encouraged students to use this upcoming academic year to continue spiritual formation and to ask God’s help in living their faith.

“Here at this university, in addition to preparing for a job and a means to a paycheck, we should also accept that we have a deeper calling — to do our part to help make the world just a little better,” he said. “We come together to ask for the gifts of the Holy Spirit because we dare to believe we really can make a difference. We are capable of renewing the face of the earth, or at least trying — at least, doing our part with the help of God.”

Following the homily, Cardinal Wuerl conferred the Canonical Mission — the authorization to teach in the name of the Church — to William Daniel of the School of Canon Law.

In his remarks after Mass, University President John Garvey advised students to live the virtue of constancy in their academic, spiritual, and personal lives.

Members of the University community, including Jeanne Garvey, bring up the gifts during the Mass of the Holy Spirit.

“When the alarm goes off at 6 a.m., constancy is the virtue that gets you out of bed in time for Mass, because you are a Christian striving to grow in holiness,” President Garvey said. “It’s the virtue that keeps you in the library when your friends call it a night because you are a scholar determined to excel in your field. It is the virtue that gives you the conviction to opt-out of the hookup culture, because you are a child of God made for love far greater than that.”

Garvey encouraged students to follow Pope Francis’s example of constancy by taking small, concrete steps to follow Christ. Garvey encouraged students to participate in the Archdiocese of Washington’s #WalkwithFrancis initiative by making concrete commitments to pray, serve, and act. Garvey also pledged to participate in the initiative and said he would serve at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Brookland.

“If we call ourselves Christians, we must affirm that fact in our actions,” Garvey said. “This is constancy.”

Following Mass, all students who pledged to participate in the initiative received blue wristbands marked #WalkwithFrancis. In his closing remarks, Cardinal Wuerl noted that if everyone wears the bracelets during the papal Mass on Sept. 23, it will be a visual reminder of the University’s commitment to service and prayer.

President Garvey Pledges to Walk with Francis at Mass of the Holy Spirit from CUA Video on Vimeo.

In his address following communion, University President John Garvey will encourage students to participate in the Archdiocese of Washington’s #WalkwithFrancis campaign. #WalkwithFrancis bracelets will be distributed to all Mass attendees, along with information about the campaign, which calls local Catholics to pray, serve, and act in preparation for Pope Francis’s visit.

Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, archbishop of Washington and chancellor of the University, will serve as the main celebrant and homilist for the Mass. As many as 50 priests from the University community will concelebrate the Mass.

The Mass — which draws heavy attendance by students, faculty, and staff — marks the official start of the academic year at Catholic University, a practice that goes back to the universities of medieval Europe. It will be televised live by Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).

University classes will be cancelled from noon to 3:30 p.m. so that students, faculty, and staff may attend.

The Sept. 23 Mass will include performances by the CUA Symphony Orchestra as well as five local choirs, including the Catholic University Chamber Choir. The orchestra will perform under the direction of Simeone Tartaglione, the orchestra’s music director. The Chamber Choir will be conducted by Leo Nestor, Justine Bayard Ward Professor and director of choral studies and CUA’s Institute of Sacred Music.

Additionally, several alumni and faculty members have composed original works for the visit, including Nestor. Nestor’s compositions for the Mass include the introit, the communion antiphon, and an original work that will be performed during the communion rite.

Thomas Stehle, director of music ministries for the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, is head of planning of music for the papal visit. In total, he said there will be 240 singers performing during the canonization Mass. The other choirs to perform include the Choir of the Basilica, a gospel choir, an intercultural choir, an auditioned archdiocesan choir. The Washington Symphonic Brass will also perform.

Prior to Mass, there will be 75 minutes of prelude music in which each choir as well as the CUA Orchestra will perform individually and together.

Stehle said the music chosen for the Mass will represent the life of Junípero Serra, the legacy of St. Francis of Assisi, and the diversity of cultures represented in Washington and throughout the United States. Though the principal language of the Mass is Spanish, many other languages and cultures will also be represented, including French, English, Latin, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Xhosa (the language sometimes called Afrikaans).

Grayson Wagstaff, dean of the School of Music and director of the Latin American Music Center, noted the importance of CUA students performing music by Manuel de Zumaya, whom he called “one of the greatest composers of Colonial Mexico.”

“This beautiful Spanish texted music for the Catholic office liturgy of Matins is the kind of music that Serra would have heard when he travelled to Mexico City and then may have brought with him to California while founding missions,” Wagstaff said. “Few other universities in the United States regularly perform works of this kind.”

“The idea is that people experiencing this Mass, no matter where they’re from, can be both connected to the Universal church and recognize that the voice and culture they bring is also represented here,” said Stehle. “Something about hearing from different cultures reminds us that we’re not one thing. Even though we are united in Christ, we have many faces, many hues, many languages, and many musical expressions that make up this one body.”

Carlos Hernandez works on the altar that will be used by Pope Francis as he celebrates Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in September.

More than two dozen reporters swarmed Carriage Hill Cabinets in Frederick, Md., Aug. 17 to get a glimpse of the altar furniture that will be used by Pope Francis in Washington, D.C., in September. The furniture was designed as part of a competition among CUA students in April. The winning designers — recent architecture graduates (pictured above, from left) Ariadne Cerritelli, Matthew Hoffman, and Joseph Taylor — patiently participated in four hours of interviews Monday afternoon while also trying to take quick breaks to talk to the builders and see their designs coming to life.

The furniture is being built by Deacon Dave Cahoon, a carpenter and ordained deacon for the Archdiocese of Washington, with assistance from Doug Fauth at Carriage Hill Cabinets. Assisting Deacon Dave — both in building the furniture and in the media event Monday — were other local craftsmen including Lawrence Wroten, who carved the papal seal onto what will become the back of the Pope’s chair, and Karen Kouneski, who is working on the mosaic that will be installed in the center arch of the altar. Deacon Dave’s employee Carlos Hernandez continued working on the altar through much of the media event.

Cerritelli and Hoffman are continuing with master’s degree studies at CUA this fall. Taylor is working for an architecture firm in Annapolis, Md.

To view stories resulting from this media event, visit In the Media.