Mass of the Holy Spirit + Convocation

Campus Life Update

On Wednesday, September 17th, the university gathered for CatholicTech’s second convocation. Our chaplain and professor of philosophy and theology, Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai, celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit to open the school year, asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance during the upcoming year. Following Mass, the students, faculty, and staff processed out of the Chapel to our outdoor statue of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom. With Marian hymns sung by the student choir and a blessing from Fr. Maurice, the school was reconsecrated to the care of Our Lady. As one of CatholicTech’s patrons and the patroness of all Catholic universities, we continue to entrust the studies of the students and flourishing of the university to Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.

As the blessing and dedication of campus to Our Lady concluded, we moved to the lecture hall for convocation and a charcuterie reception. Co-founder Bill Haughey addressed the university to welcome us to the new year. Sharing some of his personal faith journey, Haughey spoke about his choice to be baptized Catholic in first grade, his subsequent years of altar serving at parishes around Boston, and how the Church raised him in many ways, including supporting him through his childhood and sustaining him in later moments of difficulty. “There are two themes I want you to take out of what I talk about here,” he said: “Christ’s enduring love for us, and the hard work that it takes us as the individual to receive that love humbly and to follow him.”

Haughey continued to address the students: “God prepares us for what he has planned for us, and that’s why we’re here. We’re here because God calls you to greatness. He calls you to be saints. At CatholicTech, we want to teach you how to be His instrument, giving you the strength to embrace the hard work and sacrifices that this mission requires. Christ told us that it wasn’t going to be easy to be Christians, that it wasn’t going to be easy to follow him. But he told us to do it either way, and it’s the love that he gave us that sustains us.”

“CatholicTech is the most academically rigorous STEM program of any Catholic university in the world. You are being formed to be leaders in the Church, and this is exactly what the Church needs today. This path will be demanding and you will face adversity, but you’ll learn to get back up again when you are knocked down, and even to laugh in the process. The struggles cannot defeat you, for you know that Christ is always with you and will sustain you.”

Bill Haughey and his wife Alexis founded CatholicTech in order to form the next generation of saints, scholars, and scientists. Our students have chosen this opportunity to transform themselves through an experience of study, faith, and friendship at a premier STEM university in the heart of the Catholic Church. They are immersed in rigorous courses and witness to historic Church events. As our students embrace every part of these unique gifts and opportunities, they are prepared to transform the world through their witness to the faith in whatever field they enter after graduation.

In preparation for the start of fall term classes on Monday, the students are now off on a retreat with the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia in Bracciano, Italy. Please pray for each of them and for the whole CatholicTech community as we launch our second year of studies.