Join the Creighton community for the Mass of the Holy Spirit Sept. 1 to kick off Mission Week. In Jesuit tradition, we begin the academic year by asking the Holy Spirit for guidance and blessings. Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, will preside and the Creighton Jesuit community will concelebrate at the 3:30 p.m. Mass in St. John’s Church. Classes for the hour are cancelled so all may attend.
The Mass of the Holy Spirit is a tradition among Jesuit academic institutions dating to 1548 in which the community gathers to thank God for the gifts of creation and salvation and to seek the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in the coming year. The celebration of the “Mass of the Holy Ghost” at Creighton grew from a student initiative in the early 1880s and quickly evolved into an official, all-University celebration, coinciding with the President’s Convocation, and including the recitation of a pledge of loyalty to Creighton on behalf of the incoming freshman class.
As we begin each academic year at Creighton, we celebrate the graciousness of God, the bountiful gifts given to this community, and the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit. This all-University liturgy is a public commitment to our trust in God’s Spirit as we discern and live out our mission and identity, and go forth as members of the Creighton family and partners in the Gospel.
