The following article is a reprint of a press release distributed by Office of Marketing and Communications at The Catholic University of America.
The Catholic University of America and the Dominican House of Studies, in association with the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), will celebrate the start the second semester of the academic year and National Catholic Schools Week at the annual University Mass on the patronal feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas. It will be broadcast live on EWTN and CatholicTV.
The Mass will be held Tuesday, Jan. 31, in the Great Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 12:10 p.m. Catholic University classes are cancelled from 11:50 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. to allow students, faculty, and staff to attend the Mass. Nearby Catholic schools are invited to attend the Mass in anticipation of National Catholic Schools Week, which will be celebrated Sunday, Jan. 29, through Saturday, Feb. 4.
This year, Rev. Thomas Joseph White, O.P., associate professor of systematic theology at the Dominican House of studies and director of the Thomistic Institute, will be the celebrant and homilist.
The Dominican House of Studies Schola, along with students from Catholic University will serve as the choir.
This marks the fifth time that Catholic University has invited NCEA to join in this Mass. National Catholic Schools Week, founded in 1974, is a project of NCEA. The theme of this year’s National Catholic Schools Week is Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.
Thomas Burnford, president and CEO of NCEA will attend the Mass.
For more information on National Catholic Schools Week, visit www.ncea.org/our-services/catholic-schools-week. For more information on The Catholic University of America, visit www.cua.edu.
