On the first day of Black History Month, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, visited Howard University to celebrate a Feb. 1 Mass with community members from the historically Black school. As part of an ongoing outreach effort to connect with young Catholics, Cardinal McElroy spent his Sunday evening sharing thoughts on the Beatitudes, his favorite film, the state of our nation, and more.
Imani Maher, a senior at Howard studying health sciences who is the communications chair for HU Bison Catholic, the Catholic campus ministry there, said having Cardinal McElroy on campus was a huge deal for her and her friends.
“I’m excited just to see the whole energy,” Maher said before the Mass started. For Maher, the Mass was a chance for the cardinal to experience the special characteristics of Howard’s Black Catholic community.
“I came from a predominantly white Catholic community,” Maher said. “So, coming here to Howard and seeing all these beautiful Black Catholics, it was so heartwarming, because it’s just a side of Catholicism that I wasn’t exposed to.”
For the Mass, the 73 congregants packed into a Howard classroom at Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall named for the famed abolitionist included a mix of current students, alumni, professors, deans, parents and other guests. Howard University, one of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities, was founded in 1867 in Washington, D.C.
“It is a privilege to be here,” said Cardinal McElroy, who wore a special vestment from HU Bison Catholic that was decorated with a West African Kente cloth motif. The cardinal described the Catholic community at Howard as “alive and well,” and added that Howard’s Catholic tradition is one which “we need more now than ever.”
The Feb. 1 Gospel reading, which depicted the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus teaching the Beatitudes, provided a conduit for the cardinal’s message for the students. In his homily, Cardinal McElroy explained that the Beatitudes are intriguingly “an inversion of the order of nature.” To further illustrate his idea, the cardinal used his favorite film, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life.”
In his analysis of the film, Cardinal McElroy described two ways of living – by the order of nature or by the order of grace. Cardinal McElroy encouraged students to seek the order of grace, which he portrayed as a lifestyle which “treasures relationships and seeks to build up the miracles of God’s grace.”
In order to follow this path, Cardinal McElroy advised students to engage in the process of “knowing what forgiveness means” and “being honest about ourselves.” By taking the Beatitudes seriously and literally, Cardinal McElroy explained that we can start “finding ways in our lives to ennoble the world in which we live.”
The cardinal also used his homily as a moment to address some of the issues that currently weigh most heavily on young adults. Cardinal McElroy explained that he fears our country is living in a moment where the order of nature has superseded the order of grace. Cardinal McElroy’s comments in his homily came just a few days after he and other D.C. faith leaders issued a statement condemning the recent killing of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis. The cardinal has spoken out strongly against the federal government’s mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.
In the face of these challenging issues, Cardinal McElroy urged Howard students to persevere in their commitment to the Beatitudes.
“Don’t give up,” Cardinal McElroy said. “Don’t give up.”
Howard University’s Catholic chaplain, Father Robert Boxie III, explained some of the broader significance of the cardinal’s visit. “This is a young adult, Black Catholic community,” said Father Boxie. “That demographic is so often overlooked and underinvested in.”
Of the more than 100 historically Black colleges and universities, Howard is among only 10 which have a Catholic campus ministry and among only five which have a Catholic chaplain, according to Father Boxie.
Father Boxie has led the HU Bison Catholic community for the last six years. And while many Catholic student centers nationwide have been reporting high numbers of Mass attendees and converts, Father Boxie explained that he’s yet to see this trend unfold among young Black Catholics. He hopes that the visit from Cardinal McElroy will help affirm young Black Catholics in their faith and sense of belonging in the Church.
Young Black Catholics “are a demographic that frankly we are losing,” said Father Boxie. “Our ministry is trying to turn the tide, to stop that, to let young adult Black Catholics know that we are here, that the Church is for them, that the Church needs them.”
The priest said that Cardinal McElroy’s ability to speak on topics which young adults wrestle with and care deeply about is crucial.
“These are issues that resonate with our students here and are important to them,” said Father Boxie. “And [Cardinal McElroy] is speaking to that.”
After the Mass, amongst plates of food and friendly students, Cardinal McElroy took a moment to reflect on his message for young Catholics.
“When I speak on these issues, I have in mind the impact of them on young adults,” Cardinal McElroy told the Catholic Standard. “Young adults are often more open to coming together on those issues and trying to change them.”
“The Church has a moral mission to speak to the vulnerable,” Cardinal McElroy explained. “It’s part of who we are.”
As the year progresses, Cardinal McElroy plans on celebrating Mass with each college community that has a campus ministry in the Archdiocese of Washington.
