Every first Friday of the month members of the Regis Jesuit community celebrate the liturgy and break bread together. Groups of donors, parents, alliums, and students gather in the Rupert Mayer chapel to celebrate this special mass.
today Cate m and I attended the last first Friday mass of the school year and asked community members what makes this tradition so special
Friday May 3rd was the last First Friday mass of the school year and a celebration of Mother Mary, the May Crowning.
This tradition started 25 years ago when community member Mike Hendricks founded the First Friday mass and sought out choir members.
Since then, the mass has grown into a community wide tradition including “Fathers, mothers, alumni, and some staff members” who participate in the choir, said long time First Friday attendee Tom Wittman.
Wittman attended a Jesuit High school in Cleveland, Ohio and discovered the First Friday tradition when he was just a freshman. He played a primary role in helping to bring that tradition to Regis Jesuit and has attend the mass consistently for many years.
“I enjoyed it as a student, and I’m enjoying it even more now that we have a wonderful choir here,” said Wittman.
“Regis Jesuit, people think it is a high school, but it’s really a big community and this is where you see that broader community,” said Father Tom Rochford, SJ ‘64
Father Tom works as one of the Jesuits at Regis Jesuit and helps to lead, set up, and minister the mass.
“It’s a great expectance of church in a broader sense,” Fr. Rochford said.
“The most special thing about the First Friday mass is that it’s a communal celebration, and it’s one that’s been desired by the community,” said Mrs. Kristen Kraus
Mrs. Kraus works as the Director of Adult Formation at Regis Jesuit and helps provide spiritual formation for faculty and staff members. In assisting in the First Friday traditions, Mrs. Kraus has witnessed how the mass brings everyone together “In a way that just totally embraces our mission.”
Looking ahead at the 2024-25 school year the First Friday mass is a wonderful way to experience all that Regis Jesuit has to offer.
“You don’t want this to be your ‘never have I ever’ at Regis Jesuit,” Kraus says.
