Less than two weeks after Pope Francis presided over Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the La Salle community gathered in worship in that same hallowed space to celebrate the Inauguration Mass for President Hanycz on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
Edward J. Fierko, ’63, Vice Chair of La Salle’s Board of Trustees, read the First Reading during the liturgy.
Members of the La Salle family and the Hanycz family played important roles in the Mass. A number of La Salle students, including freshman Erik Hanycz, assisted as altar servers; Hanycz’s daughters, Emily and Claire, presented the offertory gifts; and a representative from the faculty, staff, student body, and the Christian Brothers community joined the President on the altar to bless her and her Presidency.
A personal guest and dear friend of President Hanycz, Monsignor Marco Laurencic made the trip all the way from Canada to attend the Inauguration Mass. Presiding over the Mass of Saint John Baptist de La Salle were six concelebrants with strong ties to the University: Graduate Religion Director Father Frank Berna, Ph.D.; Deacon Joseph A. Cilia Jr., ’73, father of University Minister Laura Cilia; Monsignor Daniel Kutys, Moderator of the Curia for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia; La Salle Chaplain Father Richard Gross, S.J.; Master of Ceremonies Father Daniel Mackle, Pastor of Saint Patrick’s Parish in Center City and a friend of the Christian Brothers; Father Joseph Campellone, O.S.F.S., a friend of the University; and Father James J. Grogan Sr., M.A. ’12.
“Loving God, through your Spirit you gave the Church, in the person of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, a charism that even today inspires us to be educators. Inspire Dr. Hanycz, together with all of us, to live it, safeguard it, deepen it, and develop it. With her, may you enliven all of us with holiness, awareness, sensitivity, and courage, similar to the gifts that animated and characterized Saint John Baptist de La Salle.” —Prayer from the La Salle Community
Before the Mass, the Hanycz family—including the President’s mother, Kelly Olesen, who made the trip from Canada for this special occasion—visited the Mary Undoer of Knots Grotto outside the Basilica, which displayed more than 100,000 prayers written on strips of cloth. Visitors are encouraged to add their own knots or to undo a knot, symbolizing the release of pressure and burden on another person. Just 11 days before, Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop at the same spot to bless the knots on the installation, which was created to honor his favorite painting and his devotion to Our Lady, the Undoer of Knots.