University Celebrates Mass of the Holy Spirit
Maggie Rotermund
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Michael Rozier, S.J., Ph.D. professed his final vows during the Mass at St. Francis Xavier College Church
Michael Rozier, S.J., Ph.D., professes his final vows during the Mass of the Holy
Spirit in St. Francis Xavier College Church on Thursday, Aug. 24. Photo by Sarah Conroy.
Saint Louis University marked the beginning of the new academic year with its traditional Mass of the Holy Spirit Thursday. Presided by Rev. Thomas P. Greene, S.J., Provincial of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern (UCS) Province, the Mass began with a procession, an invocation of the Holy Spirit’s guidance over the new academic year and a blessing with holy water.
Greene told those in attendance to live in a culture of encounter, experiencing joy and pain while caring for others and pursuing humble inquiry.
“In Jesuit education, we must never be afraid of asking questions,” he said.
During the Mass, Michael Rozier, S.J., Ph.D., associate professor and department chair for health management and policy in SLU’s College for Public Health and Social Justice, professed his final vows as a Jesuit.
Fr. Rozier reaffirmed his first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. After the Mass, less formally, Fr. Rozier also took five simple vows, which include promises not to relax Jesuit rules on poverty and not to seek higher offices either in the Society or in the Church.
Rozier has been a Jesuit since he entered the Jesuit novitiate in 2003 and made his initial commitment to the Society of Jesus with his first vows in 2005. Before entering the Jesuits, he was an undergraduate student at SLU where he was a resident advisor and served as president of the Student Government Association (SGA).
From 2008-2011, he was missioned to SLU and helped launch the first undergraduate degrees in the College for Public Health and Social Justice. In 2014, Fr. Rozier was ordained a priest in St. Francis Xavier College Church. He then completed his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan while also serving on staff at the university’s Catholic Newman Center.
The Mass of the Holy Spirit is a tradition at Jesuit schools and universities throughout the world. These celebrations date back to 1548, when the initial Mass was celebrated at the first Jesuit school in Messina, Sicily.