Students, faculty, and administrators at The Catholic University of America gathered on Sept. 3, 2026, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the university’s Votive Mass for the Holy Spirit, celebrated annually to mark the start of the academic year.
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States, was the principal celebrant of the Mass. At the start of his homily, he conveyed Pope Leo XIV’s greetings and blessing to the faithful at Catholic University. He also cited St. Augustine’s description of the Holy Spirit as an “interior teacher,” guiding each Catholic in their studies and discernment. “This is why we start the new year with a Mass for the gift of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Archbishop Caccia told the assembly that the purpose of Catholic education is to help students grow deeper into their identities as children of God made in his image and likeness. The vocation of Catholic students, he said, is to “become an image of Jesus, in your time, in your condition, your job, your family, or your neighborhood. This is Catholic formation, to become an image of God: and each image is an original, not a photocopy.”
The Gospel reading for the Mass from Matthew 5:1-12 featured the Beatitudes, which Archbishop Caccia referenced in his homily. He referred to the Beatitudes as a “self-portrait of Jesus,” allowing Christians to see what Jesus values: peace, meekness, mercy, faithfulness in the face of persecution, and purity of heart.
The nuncio said true peace and freedom can be found by turning away from worldly attractions and embracing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That is a life, he said, that “puts Jesus at the center, that tries to know him, that tries to follow him with the gift of the Spirit, reaches blessedness, joy, and peace – the joy to do not what I want, but what is right; the joy to look for truth, even if it can be unsettling, putting us in a difficult situation; the joy of love.”
Following the homily, four members of the faculty received canonical authorization from the Holy See to teach in the name of the Church: Dr. Garrett Smith and Dr. Juraj Nevjestic of the School of Philosophy, and Dr. Michael Hahn and Father José Noriega, D.C.J.M. of the School of Theology and Religious Studies.
The second reading of the Mass was offered in Spanish, and Spanish translations of the first reading and the Gospel were printed in the program, in recognition of the cultural and linguistic diversity of Catholic University’s student body.
Ava Seastrom, a junior at Catholic University who studies vocal performance and served as the cantor at this Mass, told the Catholic Standard that “I was struck by Archbishop Caccia’s thoughtful image of the Beatitudes as not only a way of life given to us by Jesus, but also a living diary into who He was, inviting me to see Christ in a more personal way.”
“As I enter a new school year filled with challenges, change, and growth, I hope to trust the Holy Spirit to guide us as students toward a deeper relationship with Christ, so that through all we experience, we may grow closer to Him and ultimately rest with Him in eternal glory,” Seastrom said.
In his remarks after Communion, Dr. Peter Kilpatrick, the president of Catholic University, asked Archbishop Caccia to transmit to Pope Leo the university’s gratitude for his ministry and its “commitment to working with him in the mission of building up Christ’s Church and proclaiming the Gospel to all nations.”
“Please also let him know that we would be very glad to give him a tour of our campus whenever his travels might bring him this way,” Kilpatrick added, eliciting laughter from the pews.
Noting that the Mass of the Holy Spirit is a tradition shared by many Catholic universities, Kilpatrick urged students to pray frequently to the Spirit for its seven gifts: knowledge, fortitude, understanding, piety, counsel, wisdom, and fear of the Lord. At the close of his remarks, just before the final blessing and dismissal, he shared his favorite prayer to the Spirit: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.”
