April 15 was a special day at Saint Ignatius High School.
After months of study and discernment, eight students became the newest Catholics in the school community and in the Diocese of Cleveland. With special permission from Bishop Edward Malesic, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost – a Saint Ignatius alumnus – celebrated the Mass of initiation in the school’s Sullivan Gym, which had been transformed into a worship space that featured a specially constructed baptismal font.
(See photo gallery above.)
According to Mary Hrich, director of the diocesan Office for Worship, it was the first time a Mass of initiation was offered at a high school rather than a parish church or in the cathedral. Typically, these liturgies take place during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.
The approximately 1,400 Saint Ignatius students and another roughly 65 Welsh Academy (grades 6-8) students filled the space along with faculty, staff and the godparents/sponsors of the soon-to-be-initiated.
The eight students who received the sacraments of initiation – four were baptized, received their first Holy Communion and were confirmed – and four who were baptized previously completed the sacraments of initiation (Communion and confirmation) during the liturgy.
The newly initiated are freshmen Michael Mussman, Adrian Schwarzman, Kristian Lynch, Vincent Vanni and Mathias Turner; sophomore Ben Los; and juniors Chase Toth, and Brayden Colleran.
Assisting with the liturgy were Saint Ignatius alumni Deacon Jeff Stutzman and Deacon Paul Kipfstuhl, the bishop’s master of ceremonies. Another alum, Father Raymond Guiao, Saint Ignatius president and chief mission officer, concelebrated the Mass along with several other Jesuits from the school. Ed Devenney, director of campus ministry, worked with the students on their faith journey.
“Here we encounter the risen Lord in our Upper Room,” Bishop Woost told those assembled. “We’re not just here as witnesses to what’s happening to them (the eight students) … We are all invited to walk out of here changed by encountering the risen Lord in the Eucharist.”
The bishop emphasized change, connecting it to the story of St. Ignatius of Loyola, patron saint of the Jesuit high school. He talked about St. Ignatius making a pilgrimage in 1522 to the Benedictine abbey at Montserrat in Spain, where he surrendered his sword, dagger and nobleman’s clothing.
“He came as a nobleman and a soldier,” the bishop said, but St. Ignatius wanted his life to change. It was a key point in his conversion story.
“That act of surrender signified a new chapter in Ignatius’ life … He surrendered all into Christ’s hands, through the intercession of Mary … Four young men will do that today in the waters of this baptismal font. Let us pray that God does something wonderful with their lives,” Bishop Woost said. “We all need to be willing to surrender our ‘sword’ to Christ … Jesus surrendered the whole of his life to us and he asks us to do the same. Let him lead and bless you … Pray that we all can walk out like Ignatius, having encountered God in our lives.”