Campus Ministry Office Hosts “Easter in Little Rome” over the Sacred Triduum -

Pilgrims entering the St. John Paul II National Shrine during the Holy Thursday Seven Church Pilgrimage. Image Courtesy of Patrick Ryan

By Anthony Curioso

While many CUA students traveled to their homes or other places over the Easter Break from April 17 to 20, the Campus Ministry office provided an opportunity for those who remained on campus to participate in a schedule of liturgies sponsored by their office. These liturgies took place at various Catholic churches, shrines, and other landmarks in the Brookland neighborhood, which is affectionately known as “Little Rome.”

The Campus Ministry office created this sponsored schedule as an alternative to holding liturgies on campus during the Sacred Triduum (Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday). The last time Campus Ministry held liturgies in the chapels on campus during the Triduum was in 2023.

The Campus Ministry office announced the schedule and locations of its sponsored Triduum liturgies in the April 7 Weekly Update email, referring to the series of events as “Easter in Little Rome.” The front page of the “Easter in Little Rome” information packet also encouraged students to find individual Triduum schedules for most local Catholic churches, shrines, and other landmarks on their respective websites, with hyperlinks to each site’s name in the packet.

The Campus Ministry office encouraged interested participants to indicate their participation in the “Easter in Little Rome” festivities using a Google Form hyperlinked on the packet’s first page. Later, Campus Ministry created a WhatsApp group chat for participants to join and receive updates.

Each successive page of the packet offered a brief description of the liturgy planned for each day of the Triduum and indicated when interested participants should gather at the Angels Unawares statue to travel to the liturgy site.

Holy Thursday, April 17

On Holy Thursday, “Easter in Little Rome” participants gathered at Angels Unawares at 6:40 p.m. to walk to the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, where the Mass of the Last Supper occurred at 7:30 p.m. in the main chapel.

Participants then proceeded to the Grotto of Gethsemane at the Franciscan Monastery after Mass, where they began the annual Seven Church Pilgrimage. This pilgrimage involved CUA students and Campus Ministry staff members moving from the Monastery to St. Clare’s Convent, St. Anselm’s Abbey, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Capuchin College, and the St. John Paul II Shrine before concluding at the Dominican House of Studies (DHS). At each location, participants knelt in prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament at a designated altar of repose. After a few minutes at the DHS, the Dominicans led the faithful in Compline at 11:45 p.m.

Many people from across the Brookland neighborhood came to Mass and several sites along the CUA students’ route during the Seven Churches Pilgrimage. However, reaching the Mass and the altars of repose at the Grotto of Gethsemane and St. Clare’s Convent posed accessibility challenges, as barriers hindered easy access at these locations. Additionally, St. Anselm’s Abbey had already closed by the time the group from CUA arrived.

Good Friday, April 18

On Good Friday, the faithful could venerate relics of the Lord’s Passion in the Crypt Church at the Basilica from 7 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

At 3 p.m., when Jesus died on the Cross, the Dominican House of Studies held a celebration of the Lord’s Passion. A burial service at the Franciscan Monastery followed at 7:30 p.m., with participants gathering at the Angels Unawares statue at 6:40 p.m. to walk to the monastery.

Holy Saturday, April 19

On Holy Saturday, the Dominican House of Studies held the Office of Readings and Lauds at 8 a.m. The Office of Readings and Lauds, informally called “Morning Prayer,” was notably less crowded than the previous afternoon’s celebration of the Passion.

The Great Easter Vigil commenced at 8 p.m. on Holy Saturday at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. During this Mass, fourteen candidates received the Sacraments of Initiation from Father Fred Close, the pastor of St. Anthony’s. With the reception of their sacraments, these candidates officially completed their journey in the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA), which they had begun last September.

Along with Father Close and several other clergymen from St. Anthony’s, the Easter Vigil featured three CUA chaplains—Father Aquinas Guilbeau, University Chaplain; Father Bernard Knapke, Chaplain for Worship; and Father Ceslaus Kowalkowski, Chaplain for Undergraduate Formation—who concelebrated the Mass. Of the fourteen individuals who received Sacraments during the Easter Vigil at St. Anthony’s, eleven were members of the CUA community, while the remaining three were parishioners at St. Anthony’s.

The Great Easter Vigil was followed at approximately 11:20 p.m. by a reception for the newly initiated Catholics in Margot Hall, the parish center at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.

Easter Sunday, April 20

The Basilica hosted two Masses on Easter Sunday: one at noon in English, with Archbishop of Washington Robert Cardinal McElroy as the celebrant, and another at 2:30 p.m. in Spanish, celebrated by Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The Campus Ministry office also recommended that students check the websites linked on the first page of the “Easter in Little Rome” packet for Mass times at other locations.

The DHS hosted Lauds (“Morning Prayer”) at 10:30 a.m. and Mass at 11:15 a.m. on Easter Sunday. Like the previous day’s combined Lauds and Office of Readings, the DHS Lauds and Mass on Easter Sunday attracted significantly fewer attendees than the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. In stark contrast, multiple attendees of the Easter Sunday Masses at the Basilica reported that these Masses drew an enormous crowd.

Additional images by Patrick Ryan: The CUA students who participated in the Seven Church Pilgrimage on Holy Thursday.