Mass on hill draws thousands

Thousands of Catholic students swamped Mission Hill Thursday to celebrate the 150th anniversary of their school district and – coincidentally – a saint called Barnabus.

Rivers of staff and students streamed down Mission Hill Thursday morning from a fleet of yellow school buses to hold a public mass in celebration of 150 years of Catholic education in St. Albert.

Some 6,000 staff and students were there in all, with delegations from every school in the Greater St. Albert Catholic district present.

This anniversary was a significant milestone for the school district, said Richard Smith, archbishop for the Catholic archdiocese of Edmonton.

“We have a hillside full of students. They tell me there are about 6,000 of you out there. That's fantastic,” he said.

“Six thousand students represent 6,000 different ways in which you will, in the future, contribute to the life of society.”

Noting that June 11 was also the Feast of St. Barnabus, Smith urged the crowd to emulate the life of Saint Barnabus, an apostle of Jesus Christ known for his faith and whose name meant “man of encouragement.”

“When I go to the schools (today), I see many, many Barnabuses in you,” he said, addressing the teachers in the audience, in that they did all they could to encourage their students. He also encouraged the students to become faithful followers of Jesus like Barnabus.

“Let us be people who never fail to encourage each other to grow in the faith.”

Historic day

In addition to the usual prayers, readings and acts of communion – featuring some 4,500 communion wafers, reported event organizer Louis Kloster – the mass featured a number of musical numbers by local staff and students.

The staff of Neil M. Ross opened the event with a swinging gospel number modelled on the ones from the Whoopi Goldberg film Sister Act, for example, all while dressed as Grey Nuns.

école Marie Poburan students delighted the crowd by doing a flash-mob like dance to the song “Lead Us to Truth” by Gi in the middle of the hill.

The whole school practised the dance for more than a month in preparation for this day, said teacher Carly Fry, who helped lead the performance.

“We're all really, really excited. (This event) is not going to happen again for a really, really long time, probably not within our lifetime.”

Marguerite d'Youville student Brianna Sorensen said she liked the sense of togetherness she felt from seeing all these students in one place.

“It's different than just going to church with the same group of people. You see the whole district.”

It was very appropriate to have this celebratory mass on Mission Hill, Smith noted – the same hill upon which Father Albert Lacombe founded the mission of St. Albert back in 1861.

“This is where it all started. This is where the Catholic Church in western Canada was established, took root and, from here, grew throughout Alberta.”

Schools back then were all about “sittin' and gettin'” and the three Rs, said Catholic district superintendent David Keohane. Now, teachers focus more on student-led learning that gets kids engaged with the subject matter, encouraging them to roll up their sleeves and get involved with their own education.

While the technology and language used in school may have changed over the years, the person of Jesus still lies at the base of all Catholic education, Smith said. There was a real sense of joy and hope for the future on the hill today as a result.

“When you really, through faith, embrace the truth that is the Lord's will, that can only give birth to hope.”

The Catholic board's 150th celebration wraps up this June 13 with a gala dinner and auction on Mission Hill.

Watch a stop motion video of the event shot by Bryan Young