A Visit with the Bishop

A Visit with the Bishop 

By Campus Ministry Editor, Vanessa Aragon (‘26)

     O’Connell students received a special visit from Bishop Burbidge, who visited to celebrate Mass with students, on Thursday, Sept. 4. Greeted by O’Connell’s SCA Executive Board,  Bishop Burbidge received a royal blue DJO quarter zip, along with a wool cap of his favorite football team, the Eagles. When describing this exchange, Lance Jayme, president of the SCA, stated that “The bishop is a great guy and he is someone who is easy to talk to. We all enjoyed his visit and were all excited that he enjoyed his gifts."

     As the celebrant of the all-school Mass, he gave a long and thoughtful homily on unity. The bishop reminded O’Connell students how, in this present moment of division, unity is very important. He then briefly mentioned how courage, O’Connell’s official theme this year, is the seed needed to unite people around the world and in our communities. Just as DJO is united through faith and a sense of community, so must students be courageous enough to help others unite as well.

As Mass came to an end, Bishop Burbidge thanked students and faculty for their reverence and participation. As a gift, he offered the entire school a “Bishop’s Holiday,” a day off for the entire school. When this will happen is to be decided later by the school administration. 

To end his visit, Bishop Burbidge visited two classrooms to meet with students and to get to know them. One of the classes he visited was Mrs. Doan’s theology class. When commenting on this special moment she said, “I told my students that it's a tremendous gift that the bishop would come and visit them for such a long period of time. Coming from a larger diocese where we had four bishops, I can say that in all my years of teaching I've never had a bishop visit my class, or any school, the way Bishop Burbidge came here. It shows his sincere love and concern for the members of his flock - we should be very grateful”, highlighting how grateful Mrs. Doan was for the bishop’s visit. 

He then shared a meal with the officers and moderators of the Hispanic Heritage Club to get to know what the club has to offer and what their goal is for this year’s assembly. Lastly, Bishop Burbidge was able to meet teachers and members of the Expanded Services faculty. Bishop Burbidge’s visit allowed students to unite together in the celebration of Mass and community, signifying an official start in faith to the new school year.