Last Thursday afternoon, I went to Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School in Methuen for a celebration of the school's 20th anniversary.

Notre Dame Cristo Rey, along with Cristo Rey Boston, is one of two Cristo Rey model high schools we have in the archdiocese. Under this model, students go to school four days a week and work at a local business one day a week. This not only gives them experience in the professional world, but their wages offset the cost of their education.

I was there at their founding, and when the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur started this school, it was in Lawrence at the convent of St. Mary of the Assumption. I was worried about their prospects, because Lawrence is not a city that has many employment opportunities. But the sisters have done very well with it.

In the meantime, they have moved to a beautiful campus that was the venue of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary's school in Methuen. The pandemic, of course, was another challenge for the Cristo Rey format. But they came through it very well, and the school is thriving. They have about a 75 percent college graduation rate, which is extraordinary.

The school is very heavily Hispanic, and the Mass was done bilingually. The youngsters participated and sang beautifully. It really was a very joyful celebration.



Institution of new acolytes

Friday, I went to Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston to celebrate the institution of new acolytes. Pope John is a unique seminary in that it forms men from all over the country who come to the priesthood later in life.

At Pope John, they have the custom of celebrating the Friday liturgies in Spanish. This is something I applaud because I think it's good for the seminarians to be exposed to liturgy in Spanish. That way, if they end up in a parish with a Hispanic community, they won't be afraid to celebrate the Mass in Spanish, even if they are unable to preach in Spanish.

Those being instituted as acolytes were Patrick Bruen of the Archdiocese of Detroit, William Burns of the Diocese of Orlando, Brian Delaney for Boston, William Patrick Long of the Diocese of Venice, Nelson Tlatelpa of the Diocese of Brooklyn, Brother Charles Tupta from Rock Hill Oratory in South Carolina, Jozef Ukaj of the Diocese of Bridgeport, and John Paul Williams from the Diocese of Springfield. [. . .]



Meeting of the Survivors Advisory Board

Saturday, we had a meeting of our Survivors Advisory Board, which assists us in education, outreach, and formation of leadership in the Church around issues of safeguarding.

They gave reports on the meetings that they've been having with priests, deacons, and seminarians on safeguarding. They say the meetings have gone very well, and I'm very grateful for all the help they give us.