Six hundred fourteen. That’s how many days—‚over 18 months—passed between St. Louis U. High’s Ash Wednesday mass on Feb. 26, 2020, and this past Monday’s All Saints Day Mass, which was the first indoor all-school gathering of any sort since the beginning of the pandemic.

While school Masses for holy days of obligation have been conducted during the pandemic, social distancing regulations restricted the possibility of a gathering of the entire student body indoors.  Though All Saints Day Mass was the first indoor gathering, the school’s Condition 3 guidelines have actually allowed for such gatherings since the beginning of the school year. The Mass of the Holy Spirit in August was moved from the football stadium to two simultaneous indoor gatherings because of weather concerns.

“We tried to do the Mass of the Holy Spirit outside, but we ran into postponement because of weather,” said Principal Ian Gibbons, SJ. “Our backup plan for that, because we didn’t have a whole lot of time, was just to split (the students) into two groups. For this Mass, we had plenty of time, and we decided that, because of weather forecasts and our terrible track record of trying to do Mass outside, that we should try it inside.”

After first period, students returned to their homerooms, which were called in groups to make their way to the Field House. Once there, freshmen and seniors took their spots on the basketball court, while sophomores and juniors sat in the bleachers on either side.

Mass was celebrated by Gibbons, and members of the pastoral teams filled roles such as altar servers, Eucharistic ministers, and readers.

Given that the Mass was meant to celebrate the Catholic holiday of All Saints Day, where all canonized saints of the Church are remembered, it was fitting that the opening procession featured a litany of the saints. Gibbons took particular note of the fact that the litany seemed to have grabbed the attention of the students compared to opening songs of previous masses.

“I was part of the procession coming in and out, and I really saw that the (students) were really singing, which is just tremendous to have high school boys engaged. The music was very well done as well, and it was quite touching how we started with the litany of the saints, giving the name and the ‘Pray for us’. It’s a beautiful, simple melody,” said Gibbons.

Pastoral Team members were integral in ensuring that the Mass ran smoothly, as they helped throughout the Mass. Freshmen were given the opportunity to read petitions and the first reading, their first exposure to participating in an all-school Mass.

“To me, (the Mass) meant trying something new. I had never read petitions in front of such a large audience before, but I tried it and found that I enjoyed it,” said freshman Jack Kelly.

Many students not directly involved in the Mass, upperclassmen and underclassmen alike, welcomed the return of all-school Masses, which freshmen and sophomores had yet to experience.

“I think it was all around a really great experience,” said junior Thomas Bock, “Mass is really a cool thing to see come together, and it was something that I had always enjoyed during my freshman year.  I truthfully found myself missing all-school Mass last year, so it’s great to have it back.”

“Really the whole time that I’ve been a student here, there’s been restrictions on all school events. There’s been times where my class and maybe one more class have all been together, but seeing the entire school in one place for the first time was really special to see,” said sophomore Leo Fitzmaurice.

With All Saints Day mass having gone off without a hitch, the administration is confident about future Masses.

“This year, we still have Immaculate Conception, Ash Wednesday, and Mass of Praise and Gratitude as well,” said Gibbons, “All things considered, with everything continuing to go well, we should use a similar model.  Maybe we would move it to the Commons, there could be some good options there.”