Just as during the time of the apostles with Pentecost, the Holy Spirit can help us to overcome fear, the pope’s representative in the United States told a group of high school students and staff.
“When we ask the Spirit, fear gets out of our life,” Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, said at the Sept. 9 school year opening Mass at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. “They (the apostles) were scared. They saw what happened to Jesus,” on Good Friday, he told students and staff at the all-boys school.
The Holy Spirit can give us the ability to interpret signs and visions, Archbishop Caccia said. “Lord, what do you want me to do?” he told the students to ask God in their prayer.
The Mass marked the official start to the 2026-2027 school year at Trinitarian-administered DeMatha and also marked the school’s 80th year in operation.
One of the “beautiful things” about Pentecost, Archbishop Caccia said, was the many languages and cultures represented in the Upper Room, and how the early faithful could communicate with each other through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In his service in the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, Archbishop Caccia’s work has allowed him to experience the Church Universal, through assignments in Lebanon and the Philippines, which preceded his six years (2020-2026) as the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. In March 2026, he was appointed U.S. papal nuncio.
“This is the call, to be one Church, uniting,” he said in his homily, which he delivered without notes. He contrasted such unity with the fear and mistrust that many people these days feel towards newcomers and outsiders.
Reflecting on DeMatha’s idea of brotherhood among its students, Archbishop Caccia said that the Holy Spirit can make us part of one family.
In addition, the Holy Spirit can give gifts related to asking for and giving forgiveness, the prelate said. He said that many of the problems within families, in the workplace, and in the nation today can be traced to a lack of forgiveness among individuals and people.
The Mass included a few DeMatha traditions, such as having the new ninth graders process into the convocation center, wearing red, white, or blue shirts, the school’s colors. Students are allowed to wear red, white, or blue polo shirts until Columbus Day, when they shift to a coat-and-tie uniform, according to Daniel McMahon, longtime DeMatha principal.
Another tradition was the students receiving a blessing from the Mass celebrant, with the faculty and staff receiving their own blessing, many standing in a semi-circle around Archbishop Caccia, with accompanying commitment pins from the school.
Archbishop Caccia noted that he was also a “fresh man” at DeMatha, playing on the idea of the freshmen processing into the convocation center. Wearing red vestments, the 68-year old also joked that he doesn’t plan to be around for the 100th anniversary of DeMatha, although one never knows what the future holds. During his homily, he occasionally paused, asking questions of the students, such as who he works for (Pope Leo XIV) and joking that they should be familiar with the pontiff, since he’s American.
Concelebrating the Mass with six Trinitarian priests, Archbishop Caccia also spoke about the life of St. John DeMatha, founder of the Trinitarians that sponsor the all-boys Catholic high school.
Cole Love, a sophomore at DeMatha who sings in the Voices of DeMatha, the school choir, told the Catholic Standard he’s in good spirits as the school year starts. “I’m excited, ready for it,” he said, wearing the black button-down shirt that the choir members wear. “I feel it’s a lot easier,” he said of attending an all-boys school. “You don’t have to worry about drama with girls,” he added and the students probably spend less time and effort on their appearance as a result. He also plays baseball at DeMatha and said that the sports and music programs helped tilt his high school decision in DeMatha’s favor.
Jakob Sumner, a fellow sophomore who sings in the Voices of DeMatha, added that being back at school is “coming back home” for him. “It’s really my second home,” he added. He said it’s very easy to make friends at DeMatha and that ever since he attended “Stag for a Day,” as an eighth grader considering attending the school, he’s felt the brotherhood of students at DeMatha.
