Lucia Silecchia

As I think of Pope Francis’s time here with us, and his celebration of the canonization Mass in our midst, there are many things, some quick snapshots that I will always remember:

The joy of the crowd that grew each minute that the Mass drew closer.

The random meetings with people from so many parts of my life — my parish, my circle of friends, my students, my colleagues, and even my local Dunkin Donuts — all gathered in the same place for the same sacred reason.

The lump that came to my throat when the carillon rang out our joyful expectation.

The remarkable simplicity of the canonization rite.

Hearing “Rejoice in the Lord always …” and realizing that one of my favorite scripture passages, the one I read at my brother’s wedding, was the one I was about to hear proclaimed on yet another special day.

The hymns both familiar and new that praised God in the many ways we strive to capture awe and love in song.

The jubilant laps in the Popemobile and the reverence of the Mass that followed.

The expected smiles of sharing the day with loved ones, and the unexpected tears that came from realizing that there are loved ones with whom I can no longer share great days like this. (Gratefully, tears not captured on the JumboTron.)

And the gift of receiving the Eucharist in that unexplained moment filled with the paradox that the most quiet and intimate moment with God can be in a crowd of thousands.

Were I to write about all these things, this post would be far too long! So, instead, I’ll let the last words be Pope Francis’s. As he prepared to leave the United States, his parting remarks began:

“My days with you have been brief. But they have been days of great grace for me and, I pray, for you too. Please know that as I prepare to leave, I do so with a heart full of gratitude and hope.”

Indeed, his days with us were brief. They were days of great grace for me and, I pray, for you too. As he prepared to leave, I saw him do so with a heart full of gratitude and hope.

— Lucia Silecchia is vice provost for policy, a professor of law at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, and director of the International Human Rights Summer Law Program in Rome.

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.

Chad Pecknold

Perhaps someone will say that the most amazing thing that Pope Francis will do is to declare Blessed Junípero Serra a holy saint, which he’ll do right here at Catholic University. It’s hard to beat declaring a human person a holy saint! But more amazing than making saints is the power by which saints are made. And this is the power of Jesus Christ, whose power is present to us in Mary’s womb, in his Church, in his Vicar, and preeminently for us in the Most Holy Eucharist.

In his Angelus address this last Sunday, Pope Francis reminded us that the Eucharist is not a private prayer, nor is it a spiritual experience, or a mere symbol of that experience. The Eucharist is a public act. It is for the life of the people, the nations, the world. The Eucharist is Christ’s body and blood, soul and divinity, the whole of Jesus Christ truly and substantially present to his people.

Preaching on the “Bread of Life” discourse of John 6, the Holy Father taught that the Eucharist “actualizes and makes present the event of the death and resurrection of Jesus: The bread is truly his Body given, the wine is truly his Blood poured out.” Jesus is really on earth in the Eucharist. When Pope Francis celebrates Mass here on the steps of the Basilica, overlooking the campus of Catholic University, Jesus will be present. The Pope will do the same before hundreds and hundreds of thousands in Philadelphia too. In the Pope’s own words, “with the Eucharist, heaven is on earth.” And what is more amazing than this?

This is what it means for the Pope to say that “Love is our mission,” because the most amazing thing Pope Francis will do is celebrate the Most Holy Eucharist. As he says, “The Eucharist is Jesus Christ who gives himself entirely to us. To nourish ourselves with him and abide in him through Holy Communion, if we do it with faith, transforms our life into a gift to God and to our brothers.” Pope Francis comes to increase our faith, which can see what our senses cannot perceive. He comes to us because he has been sent by Christ, and he comes to bear witness to the truth that in Christ, the most amazing thing is that we can be transformed, and made holy through communion with his real and present love.

Jesus Christ chose St. Peter to be his rock and gave him the keys to the kingdom, which is to say the keys to himself. And in the person of Pope Francis we see the successor of St. Peter, and he also has the keys to the kingdom, and he comes to America to open wide the doors to Christ, and to invite us to share in his life. This is amazing!

—    Chad Pecknold is an associate professor of systematic theology at The Catholic University of America School of Theology and Religious Studies.

Lucia Silecchia

In 2013, our stay in Rome coincided with the great Feast of Corpus Christi. By Roman tradition, the Pope celebrates Mass at Rome’s cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and then processes in a traditional Corpus Christi procession up Via Merulana, a street connecting St. John Lateran with another great basilica of Rome, St. Mary Major. Via Merulana was, literally, the street on which my students and I were living and I looked forward to the chance to see Pope Francis up close. Via Merulana is only about as wide as Michigan Avenue in D.C., and with a spot to stand right at the curb, I was sure that I would get to see Pope Francis much more closely than I ever had in the enormity of St. Peter’s Square.

As the procession got under way, the crowd fell into that blend of reverence and excitement that is unique to Rome. On this occasion, I was surprised that reverence prevailed. But recognizing the sacred events that were unfolding, bystanders like me and the thousands of clergy, religious, and lay people in the procession were more quietly, prayerfully reflective and contemplative than one would ever expect could be possible when so many gathered on a beautiful summer evening in Rome.

After the monstrance holding its sacred contents passed by, the most solemn part of the procession was over and I was certain that the Pope would pass next. And then …. the procession was over, and I had missed him. As it turned out, Pope Francis had walked behind the Blessed Sacrament with a small group of others, and in the crowd I hadn’t even noticed him. I had waited a couple of hours, given up dinnertime in Rome (something no one does lightly!), had a great vantage point … and I missed him.

My initial reaction was great disappointment. But, I had it wrong. I’m not sure that I would have waited so long, prayed with so many strangers, meditated about the great gift of the Eucharist, and shared the joy of pilgrims (both the curious and the devout) if I hadn’t been enticed to come by the possibility of seeing the Pope. If I truly believed what I say I believe, the chance to have seen the Pope should have paled in comparison to the excitement of having been so close to God in the Holy Eucharist — a closeness certainly to be found in Rome, but also to be found in any of our campus chapels, in my parish church, and in the smallest tabernacles in the smallest corner of the world. Yet, there was something about the promise of having a Pope present that drew a crowd together — a crowd of people who otherwise would not have joined together in such prayerful joy.

And maybe that same mystery lies at the heart of a papal visit. The excitement of a visit by the Holy Father and the chance to be with him at Mass here on campus will unite so many of us in prayer and celebration when we otherwise would not be together. Yet, my reminder to myself is that a visit from the Pope — as joyous and privileged as it is — is not the end in itself. Instead, as it was for me in Rome, it is an enticing invitation that beckons us back to God.

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