The Mass, which was concelebrated by 1,000 priests, was held on the East Portico of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The massive congregation gathered on the University Mall, in crowds that spread from the front of the Basilica to Mullen Library and beyond.

Pope Francis began his homily with a message of joy.

Deacons, accompanied by student volunteers, process to Mass in order to distribute communion.

“Rejoice in the Lord always,” he said. “I’ll say it again: Rejoice in the Lord always.”

Rather than settling for earthly pleasures and “things that are comfortable,” the Pope told the massive congregation to avoid falling into apathy, “a habit with a fatal consequence: our hearts go numb.”

Continuing, the Pope said Christians should live out their joyful faith by proclaiming the Gospel to the entire world — going out “to the highways” — and sharing the good news without judgment or condescension.

“Jesus would not provide a short list of who is or who is not worthy of receiving his presence,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis also spoke highly of St. Junípero, calling him “the embodiment of a church which goes forth.” He said people should follow in his example by following the new saint’s motto in life: “Siempre Adelante,” which translates to “Keep moving forward.”

The Mass, which was celebrated in Spanish, was intended to shine a light on the diverse Catholic community in the United States and the Washington Metropolitan Area. The program included readings in English and the Native American Chochenyo language. Following the Homily, a Universal Prayer included lines read in Korean, American Sign Language, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Igbo, and Creole.

Simeone Tartaglione, conductor of the CUA Symphony Orchestra, conducts University musicians following the conclusion of the papal Mass on Sept. 23.

Music for the Mass was provided by the CUA Symphony Orchestra and five choirs, including the University Chamber Choir. The orchestra performed under the direction of Simeone Tartaglione, the orchestra’s music director, while the chamber choir was conducted by Leo Nestor, Justine Bayard Ward Professor and director of choral studies and CUA’s Institute of Sacred Music.

Several alumni and faculty members composed original works for the visit, including Nestor. Nestor’s compositions for the Mass included the introit, the communion antiphon, and an original work, “I am the Living Bread,” that was performed during the communion rite.

Following the Holy Eucharist, which was distributed by more than 200 deacons accompanied by student volunteers, Cardinal Donald Wuerl gave a short address to the Pope and those in attendance.

“Not far from here in 1634, the first Catholics arrived in what is now the United States and began the evangelization effort that we see so wonderfully realized today at this great Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the campus of The Catholic University of America,” Cardinal Wuerl said.

“As we seek today to enrich our human culture with the great love — love of God and love of neighbor, we also try to care for our common home, the good earth,” he continued. “We take seriously your call in Laudato Sí to face the challenges of our day and to do so with respect for the dignity of each person; concern for one another, especially the marginalized and the poor; and care for the good earth, God’s gift to us now and for generations to come.”

Thanking the Holy Father for visiting the University and the United States, Cardinal Wuerl continued:  “We look to you, Holy Father, for renewed inspiration so that we might truly be evangelizers.”

> Full transcript of the Pope’s homily

Mass with Francis from CUA Video on Vimeo.

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.

Lucia Silecchia

When I first read Laudato Si’, a line that caught my attention was one unlikely to be much noted because it expresses an idea so universal, yet so simple.  Pope Francis wrote:

“The history of our friendship with God is always linked to particular places which take on an intensely personal meaning; we all remember places, and revisiting those memories does us much good. … [G]oing back to those places is a chance to recover something of [our] true selves.”

This line touched my heart for a deeply personal reason. Laudato Si’ was released the same morning as my Dad’s funeral. I first read it when I returned home from that sacred farewell, and I knew exactly what Pope Francis meant by linking “ [t]he history of our friendship with God” to particular places.

To be with my family, I spent most of this past year in New York. While there, I prayed at the parish church that generations of my family called home — and that my heart still calls home too. My parents married there, I was baptized there, and it has been the scene of my life’s most joyous and sorrowful moments.  It is where I still see my first grade teacher, where people have told me until fairly recently that I have gotten taller (?!), and where neighbors who knew my grandparents come to worship. Within this past year alone, the Pascal candle burned to celebrate our family’s joy at my baby nephew’s baptism, and it burned again to call us to joyful hope of a different kind at my Dad’s funeral. It was at that church that my “history of friendship with God” was born, nourished, and celebrated.

I lived much of this year in the house I grew up in — discussing life and death, knowing joy and sorrow, and saying my last farewell to Dad in the same place I lost my first tooth, built grammar school science fair projects, celebrated dozens of birthdays, typed articles for a high school newspaper (on a real typewriter!), poured over college catalogs, studied for the bar exam, graded students’ papers, and lived the decades of friendships and adventures that make up life. It was in that home that my “history of friendship with God” was lived.

I spent time in other important places back home too, those “particular places which take on an intensely personal meaning” every time they are revisited.

How, you may ask, does this relate to our preparations for a papal Mass here on our campus? In the “history of friendship with God,” special places have always played important roles. While faith tells us that our true home is not of this world, God’s presence is often seen and known in particular places. The Garden of Eden, Mount Sinai, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Galilee, Cana,  the Jordan River, Mount Tabor, Gethsemane, Calvary, Golgotha, and the road to Emmaus — to name but a few — all call to mind important moments in the “history of friendship with God.” For centuries, pilgrims to Jerusalem, Rome, Assisi, Lourdes, Fatima, and Czestochowa have sought out sacred places inextricably intertwined with that history and that friendship.

I hope that for many, this campus is a special place in their “history of friendship with God.” Whether through our sacramental life, academic life, or community life, I hope that for all of us there is a moment — or many — that took place here and that is a landmark in the history of that friendship. On Sept. 23, in the heart of our campus, the successor of St. Peter will be among us. The successor of the fisherman from Galilee who marveled at Mount Tabor, slept at Gethsemane, ran from Calvary, and died a martyr’s death in Rome will celebrate Mass and the very first canonization in America right here in our home. Many wait a lifetime to journey to Rome or plan a pilgrimage hoping to travel to a celebration like the one that we will be privileged to witness. Many never dream of it.

Years from now, when the papal Mass is long over, I hope it will remain for many an important moment in our “history of friendship with God.” I also hope that it is a moment that will be forever linked to this place.

—   Lucia Silecchia is a professor of law at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. She also is director of the International Human Rights Summer Law Program in Rome.