Archbishop Ronald Hicks celebrated Mass for administrators, faculty, and students at St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School in Huguenot, Staten Island, during his first pastoral visit to an Archdiocese of New York Catholic high school. 

St. Joseph by-the-Sea is Staten Island’s largest Catholic high school and one of the largest in the archdiocese.

A spirit of graciousness and welcome 

In his homily, Archbishop Hicks anchored his message in a question drawn from everyday life, one that he said people ask more often than they realize. 

“Who’s in charge?” he asked the students. “If you have any doubt about who’s in charge, it is God. God, ultimately, is in charge.” 

Drawing on the day’s gospel, in which Jesus tells his disciples that he and the Father are one, Archbishop Hicks reflected on the human tendency to seek control. 

“Sometimes we want to be so in charge of our own lives, to control everything, every step, every action, every consequence,” he said. “But part of following Jesus is to let God be in charge. It’s a prayer, and it’s one of the hardest prayers to say: ‘God, not my will be done, but your will be done.'” 

He closed his homily with a reminder of what he called the one desire of the God who is in charge. 

“God wants one thing,” Archbishop Hicks said. “He wants all people to be saved. He wants people to have eternal life. This life here, this is rental property. We have one home, and it is in heaven.” 

READ MORE: Rev. John McCarthy To Serve Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks’ Secretary

At the end of Mass, Archbishop Hicks praised the students and faculty for their behavior and participation. 

“I have had a micro impression of St. Joseph by-the-Sea this morning,” he said. “I drove in, arrived, and saw a beautiful campus, well-maintained, with sports fields and a beautiful building. Then I walked inside the student center, which is so beautifully decorated, and there was a spirit of graciousness and welcome the moment I walked in.” 

He also praised the students’ conduct and attentiveness during the Mass. “I have never seen, at the moments when we kneel before the Eucharist, such stillness,” he said. “It was so quiet, so reverent, and so dignified. I can tell when people are paying attention and when they are not. Your attentiveness, to me and, more importantly, to the Lord in the Eucharist, was really powerful.” 

Students presented the archbishop with a St. Joseph by-the-Sea Vikings hooded sweatshirt, which Archbishop Hicks promised to wear during his walks to Central Park and around Manhattan. 

A sort of homecoming 

Archbishop Hicks was accompanied on the visit by his secretary, Father John McCarthy, who served as chaplain at St. Joseph by-the-Sea for seven years before being appointed to his current role. Father McCarthy’s return was warmly received, as students greeted him with handshakes and hugs as he toured the building alongside the archbishop. 

“It feels good to be back,” Father McCarthy said. He recently received the Founder’s Award from the St. Joseph by-the-Sea Pillar Fund at its annual dinner on April 16. 

Archbishop Hicks toured the school’s large campus, including the Bloomberg Business Lab and its media center, where he was the subject of an impromptu interview by London Ortiz and Angelo Barisciano, both seventh-grade students from nearby Our Lady Queen of Peace School. The pair’s class happened to be visiting the high school and touring the media center when the archbishop stopped by. 

Following the visit, Archbishop Hicks reflected on what he had seen beyond the Mass, the classrooms, the culture, and the community. 

“I have seen the students in their classrooms, their level of prayer, their attentiveness, and how it all comes together as a culture in which Catholic identity is growing,” he said. “Excellence in education, a real commitment to the faith and to service, and having God at the center. I am walking away with a macro impression, and I am extremely impressed. I ask God to continue to bless this particular mission, and all of our Catholic schools.”