Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy celebrated a Feb. 13 Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Silver Spring to honor the parish school’s 75th anniversary and to mark Black History Month.
“It is so wonderful we can gather together to celebrate the 75th anniversary (of St. John the Evangelist School) and to celebrate the heritage of African Americans… and the important part they play in our history,” Cardinal McElroy said of the dual celebration.
The Mass was attended by the entire student body along with the faculty and staff of St. John the Evangelist School and nearly 100 parishioners of the parish.
Engaging with the students during his homily, the cardinal asked what they most enjoy about their school. The responses included the teachers, religion class, attending Mass, band practice and gym class.
Noting that the school was originally staffed by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cardinal McElroy told the students the sisters “would be happy to know the school is thriving.”
“By coming here, you will learn that God loves you … (and) it is the most important thing that this school can teach you,” Cardinal McElroy told the students. “If you learn nothing else, learn God loves you always.”
He also encouraged students to “love each other the same way God loves us.”
Celebrating Black History Month, the cardinal said, is also a reminder that “God loves us and wants us to be happy and to be proud of our different cultures.”
“It is important to have Black History Month, because it helps us to see each other as God sees us,” Cardinal McElroy said.
During the Mass, which included a hymn sung in Zulu, prayers were offered for the St. John the Evangelist School faculty and staff and their work, and also for the world, that “divisions be healed” and “communities be built on love of neighbor.”
Prior to the end of Mass, Cardinal McElroy led the congregation in praying the “Hail Mary” for the canonization causes of seven African Americans whose causes for canonization have begun.
The seven Black Catholics from the United States – affectionately referred to as “the saintly seven” – who are being considered for sainthood are:
• Venerable Mother Mary Lange, the foundress of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore, the first Catholic order of African American women religious;
• Venerable Father Augustus Tolton from Chicago, the first Catholic priest in the United States known to be Black;
• Venerable Henriette Delille, foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans;
• Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration from Mississippi who was a dynamic Catholic evangelist and educator;
• Venerable Pierre Toussaint from New York City, a holy man known for his works of charity;
• Servant of God Julie Greeley from Denver who was also known for her works of charity; and
• Servant of God Friar Martin Maria de Porres Ward, a Conventual Franciscan and Boston native who served the poor and the sick as a missionary priest in Brazil.
“We give thanks for the rich tradition of the Catholic faith in the African American community, and we give thanks for the wonderful witness of the Black Catholic community in the United States,” Cardinal McElroy said.
Father Joseph Calis, pastor of the parish, called it “a beautiful grace” to celebrate the school’s anniversary and Black History Month with the cardinal.
Shindana Crawford, principal of St. John the Evangelist School, said the Mass was “truly a blessing, and there is no more special way to celebrate our history.”
Combining the celebration of the school’s anniversary with Black History Month, Crawford said, “represents our history and shows that our diversity is our strength.”
“Attending here, our students get a sense of real life, and real life is not homogenous,” she said. “Our school provides and environment where students are loved, respected and grounded in Gospel values.”
After the Mass, Cardinal McElroy visited the school for a tour. He was greeted by members of the School Advisory Board, the Home and School Association and student ambassadors.
Cardinal McElroy praised the school “which since 1950 has formed a faith community” dedicated to learning and servicing one another.
While there, he also blessed the school and prayed that the God would “always enlighten our minds so that we may learn what is right and good and in our actions carry out what we have learned.”
