Cardinal Dolan Celebrates With Regians at Centennial Mass

Above: Cardinal Dolan poses for a photo with a group of Regis students in the Quadrangle following the Centennial Mass at the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola. Photo courtesy Catholic New York.

On Sunday, October 26th His Eminence, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, celebrated the Regis High School Centennial Mass at the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola. Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano '77, Bishop of Bridgeport, served as homilist. The afternoon mass was the capstone centennial event for a weekend of emotional and spiritual celebration.

The grand church at 980 Park Avenue was packed with alumni, family, and friends of Regis who came to celebrate and pray in thanksgiving for Regis's 100-year tradition of tuition-free Catholic education. In fact, only those lucky enough to obtain a ticket to the mass, distributed by a lottery system, were able to attend. Thankfully, Telecare TV recorded the mass and aired it later that evening for the greater Regis community. The broadcast was aired on TV locally and was viewable worldwide on the Telecare website.

In an opening prayer, Cardinal Dolan stated, "Every mass is a great act of thanksgiving. But this afternoon's has a special fervor to it as we praise Almighty God for a century of magnificent Catholic education at the school dedicated to Saint John Francis Regis."

The Regis community was blessed to have Bishop Caggiano, from the Regis class of 1977, deliver the afternoon's homily.

"What is it that you and I are thankful for?" questioned Bishop Caggiano. "For what makes Regis great is not simply it's unparalleled academic training, but that it is preeminently a Catholic education. And what makes Catholic education Catholic is that is strives to teach not simply the truths of life in the plural, the truths that reflect the mystery and beauty of life, the truths that unlock the potential of human life, the truths that you and I have used well to be successful in society; it is also to teach the heart of every student the Truth in the singular, the Truth with a capital "T", the Truth that is not some thing but some one; the Truth who revealed to every Regian how wildly he is loved by God."

"As it has been for 100 years," concluded Bishop Caggiano, "may it be so for many more generations to come: that Regis will forever be Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam."

Before the closing prayer, Cardinal Dolan took a moment to reflect on Regis's centennial celebration. "As the Archbishop of New York, may I say publicly: praise be Jesus Christ for the grace and the gift of Regis High School. What a blessing this great school has been for a century."

Concluding his remarks, Cardinal Dolan quipped, "Saint John Francis Regis was everywhere, and hear me say I see his sons from this splendid school dedicated to him everywhere. Everywhere I go, I see the fruit of 100 years of Regis. I meet you all over the place, and I know you are from Regis because it takes you about 5 seconds to tell me!"

"You are everywhere, and you are bringing the Truth—the Truth that Bishop Caggiano eloquently spoke about—you are bringing Him everywhere. Praise be Jesus Christ for the gift of Regis."

A reception for mass attendees took place at Regis High School immediately following the Recessional Hymn, Joyful, Joyful We Adore You. The highlight of the reception was Cardinal Dolan's eagerness to join the Regis family in the Quadrangle, where he shook hands, posed for photographs, and praised the now century-old school that has established such a wonderful history in the Catholic tradition of serving others.

A sampling of photographs from the Regis Centennial Mass are provided below. Click here to view the full gallery of photographs from the Regis Centennial Mass.