Baccalaureate Mass for the Class of 2020

Governor Baker announced earlier this week that religious services can resume in the Commonwealth under certain conditions. Because Austin Prep is a Roman Catholic institution, I have secured permission from the Bishop and public health officials in the Town of Reading to hold an outdoor Celebration of the Eucharist for the Class of 2020 on Father Seymour Field here on campus. I am extraordinarily grateful to Town officials for their support and approval for Austin Prep to offer this liturgy for the Class of 2020.

Bishop Mark A. O’Connell, Episcopal Vicar of the North Region for the Archdiocese of Boston will celebrate the liturgy which is scheduled for Friday, May 29, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. (with a rain date of Saturday, May 30). Because there will be faculty in attendance at the mass I have cancelled all classes on Friday. (Please pray for good weather.)

As excited as we all are to have this special opportunity, a word of caution is appropriate here. Despite very careful planning, detailed preparation, and strict adherence to public health best practices and government requirements, Austin Prep is unable to provide an absolute guarantee that attendees will not contract the coronavirus which causes the disease, COVID-19. If you choose to participate, you assume the risk that comes with your decision. The current public health crisis being caused by the coronavirus has been classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. For more information about how to protect yourself from the coronavirus, you may reference the latest CDC guidelines.

As a condition of approval for the mass to occur, there are very firm guidelines in place. I have given my personal assurance to Town officials that Austin Prep will faithfully comply with those guidelines. In that spirit, we are unable to grant exceptions or offer special considerations. Please be respectful of that to prevent any risk of cancellation of this liturgy.

When I wrote to the Class of 2020 at the end of April, I told the Senior Class I didn’t want to arbitrarily pick a date to schedule a tentative capstone celebration for this exceptional class. I didn’t want to cause any additional disappointment in all the uncertainty. I did promise them, however, that if a window of opportunity opened for the Class of 2020 to come together before they headed off to college in August, I would mobilize the resources of the Austin Prep community to coordinate an in-person event and we are well underway.

I had no definitive idea at the time, of course, of what that exactly would look like. In just a few days, however, we will celebrate a liturgy for the Class of 2020 and ask God’s blessing on this exceptional group of young men and women. It’s not lost on me that there’s something appropriate, fitting, paradoxical, even profound, that the event we are permitted to celebrate by civic authorities is at the center of the Roman Catholic faith – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And before the Bishop imparts his blessing on the graduating class at the conclusion of the liturgy, I will have the privilege to hand the members of the Class of 2020 their Austin Prep diplomas.

Pope Francis said St. Augustine characterized Christian life as “a journey between the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God.” And St. Augustine’s teacher, St. Ambrose, said “there is no duty greater than to give thanks.” As I blend those two thoughts, I’m thankful for this “consolation of God” – an unforeseen opportunity to celebrate a mass for Austin Prep’s Class of 2020 and commission them to continue on their Journey. I’m grateful for the gift of life, for family and friends which give it meaning, and for faith – which gives it fulfillment.