At St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrated the annual Mass of the Holy Spirit – the seminary’s liturgy of the new academic year. More than 200 people attended the September 3 gathering, where new faculty made their Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity.

“I am thankful, and I praise God,” Cardinal Dolan said early in the homily, citing the special liturgical gathering and the presence of the concelebrants and the faithful. Four new faculty members made their Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity.

Also in the homily, Cardinal Dolan spoke of his gratefulness for the seminary staff and for the benefactors, including the Knights of Columbus. “I praise God. Praise be Jesus Christ.” Representatives of the Knights attended, and the cardinal blessed a statue of Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus.

In reference to the Gospel reading, the cardinal connected Jesus’ leaving Capernaum to “proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God” to the seminarians’ priestly vocations. “Jesus is the exemplar of our priesthood to which we aspire,” the cardinal said. “We see him as a priest in our Gospel this evening – we see a priest in action, healing, preaching, casting out demons…We see a priest in prayer, praying to his heavenly Father; and we see Jesus, a priest, driven by his mission to move on, to persevere.”

The cardinal noted that, like Christ, the students and staff at St. Joseph’s Seminary are faithful and dedicated to remaining “busy, to be active, to study, read lessons, research…We are like Jesus, faithful in prayer, Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Adoration, Devotion – to move on, driven always by our passion for him and his Church.” Cardinal Dolan cited the works of Blessed Michael McGivney and St. Teresa of Calcutta, the importance of the gathering, and “the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary, Bishop James Massa, in closing words of gratitude, said, “Cardinal Dolan, thank you for opening our school year, for leading us in this Mass of the Holy Spirit.” Bishop Massa told the cardinal that “it’s been such an eventful time since you last celebrated with us,” citing Cardinal Dolan’s weeks in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV. Bishop Massa is an auxiliary bishop with the Diocese of Brooklyn.

One of the new faculty members, Monsignor Luke Sweeney, STL, told The Good Newsroom afterward, “It was a grace-filled moment as I was renewing the Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity…And His Eminence has a beautiful way of getting down to the root of things (in homily messages).” Monsignor Sweeney will also serve as vice rector. The other three new faculty members are Father Joseph Scolaro, STD, Father Paul Kucharski, and Mrs. Mary Gray.

Concelebrants of the Mass included Bishop Massa, and from the Archdiocese of New York auxiliary bishops Edmund Whalen and Joseph Espaillat, and Monsignor Joseph LaMorte. The Mass was followed by a barbecue gathering.  

St. Joseph’s Seminary and College, founded in 1896, is located on Seminary Avenue in the Dunwoodie area of Yonkers. It is the major seminary of the Archdiocese of New York, but since 2012, it has also been the major seminary for the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Diocese of Rockville Centre.