On Thursday, December 8,  students, faculty, and staff gathered as a school community to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Most Reverend Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki presided over the Mass with Master of Ceremonies Fr. Jim Lobacz. The DSHA Divine Strings, handbells, and the Liturgical Music Team provided the music.

At the beginning of the Mass, the Archbishop shared, “I want you to realize how much you represent the Catholic identity in our community.” He called attention to how DSHA lives out his three priorities of shepherding the Church: Catholic identity, evangelization, and stewardship.

As an all-girls school, we have a special devotion to Mary, Mother of the Savior. During the homily, the Archbishop discussed the idea of decision making, advising students to look to Mary as an example. He urged students, when making a difficult decision, to ask themselves, "am I following God's will?" He went on to emphasize that the basis of our Catholic faith is "listening to God and His will,” just as Mary did when she became the Mother of God – when she was around the same age as our students.

A most sincere thank you to Archbishop Listecki and Fr. Lobacz for helping us observe the Holy Day of Obligation at DSHA.