The Baccalaureate Mass is one of the final rites of passage for Catholic high school students. For many schools, the Mass serves a dual purpose, with an award ceremony and the distribution of a keepsake for students to remember their high school. Ultimately, all Baccalaureate Masses mark the last time the graduating students will attend Mass together as an entire class.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated Baccalaureate Masses with students, family and faculty from Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington and Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland, within a week from each other.
On May 24, Cardinal Gregory joined Archbishop Carroll High School’s graduating class of 2023 for a Baccalaureate Mass in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception’s Crypt Church. During his homily, Cardinal Gregory told those attending that he sometimes considers what life would be like if he had young children himself.
“I know that on occasion, many of your parents might be more than willing to let me have my dreams fulfilled by taking several of you home with me for a trial run,” Cardinal Gregory joked.
He continued to say how then he would be able to witness what he considers the “pinnacle of parenting” including milestones such as seeing children off to their first day of school, academic successes, as well as extracurricular “triumphs” in sports, music or theater.
Cardinal Gregory spoke to the students directly, saying that as their families congratulate them on graduation, they should be as grateful for their families.
“Today after Mass, your parents will probably search for words to express their pride and their unfathomable love for you. I hope that you graduates will also find a moment to tell them how grateful you are to them, for life, for love, for support, for a Catholic education that has prepared you for success,” Cardinal Gregory said.
Cardinal Gregory said that students should not only remember their academic lessons from Catholic school, but what they learned about their faith as well.
“On future graduation days, I hope you will remember what it was like to be a high school graduate, and I think with a little stretch of my imagination, I can also imagine just what joy it must be today to be a parent of a high school graduate as well,” Cardinal Gregory said.
Following Communion, there was the presentation of the Cardinal’s Medal of Excellence by Kelly Branaman, the Secretary for Catholic Schools and Superintendent of Schools for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. The 2023 recipient for Archbishop Carroll was graduating senior Kingsley Ndukauba, a parishioner of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Landover Hills, Maryland who will be attending Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
The annual award is chosen by the high school president and goes to a student who “exemplifies traits that model solid Christian values that are practiced, a growing spirituality, and commitment to service as a Peer Minister,” Branaman said as she addressed the crowd. The recipient is given a medal, along with a $1,500 scholarship.
Branaman described Ndukauba’s pivotal role in Peer Ministry as an Archbishop Carroll student, where he “led prayer services, facilitated retreats, and served at the altar during Masses…Kingsley alternately served behind the camera as a member of the Jim Vance Media Program. In that capacity he was a member of the team recording the livestream for online viewers of the Mass.”
Each student was then presented with a cross they can wear. Archbishop Carroll’s Principal Élana Gilmore said these represent the school’s motto “Pro Deo Et Patria,” which means “For God and Country.”
“[This] signifies the importance of God in all that we do, as we seek to fulfill our mission of preparing future servant leaders who will affect great change,” Gilmore said.
A week later on May 31 at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Takoma Park, Cardinal Gregory joined Don Bosco Cristo Rey graduating seniors in the class of 2023 for their Baccalaureate Mass.
During his homily, Cardinal Gregory focused on Mary who visited her cousin, Elizabeth, who was having her first child, John the Baptist. Cardinal Gregory said that even though Mary was the “woman of the hour” about to give birth to Jesus, she decided to help her cousin.
“Mary’s lesson to you and to me is that it’s not about me, life is not about me. I am called to see the needs of others and to respond to those needs,” Cardinal Gregory said. “I am called to put my own issues aside so that my heart has room to care for other people.”
Cardinal Gregory told students to enjoy their success, but to remember to think of others as they enter the world.
“Hopefully one of the lessons that our young people here at Don Bosco Cristo Rey, our graduating seniors, have discovered is that you can be happier making other people happy than spending all of your time trying to make yourself happy,” Cardinal Gregory said.
Following Communion, Kelly Branaman introduced and awarded the Cardinal’s Medal, which went to Daniel Paulino-Polanco, a member of the class of 2023 at Don Bosco Cristo Rey who is a parishioner at Our Lady of Sorrows Church.
Paulino-Polanco assisted in liturgies and retreats at the church, and attended youth pilgrimages, Branaman said, adding that he also helped with school fundraisers. He was a part of the Youth Ministry Team at his school, and will attend The Catholic University of America.
