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On Saturday morning, members of the Class of 2023 — who began as freshmen during Thomas Aquinas College’s first year in New England — received their diplomas, making them the first students to spend all four undergraduate years on the Northfield, Massachusetts, campus.

The day began with the Baccalaureate Mass of the Holy Spirit in Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel, recently restored after fire damage on Easter. The Thomas Aquinas College Choir, under the direction Stephen Grimm (’75), lifted hearts and souls to God with hymns and chant, while an alumnus priest, Rev. Patrick Seo (’06), and numerous concelebrants offered the solemn liturgy.

“Very easily, we can graduate and go back out into the world thinking that, and acting like, we are better than everyone else; that’s when we’ve lost the core of what TAC was trying to teach us,” Fr. Seo exhorted the graduates in his homily. “The point of TAC wasn’t to foster humans who always have to be right … it was to form men and women to grow most especially in the love of friendship, rooted in the truth, Who is the person of Jesus Christ.”

Photos: Baccalaureate Mass of the Holy Spirit
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  • Baccalaureate Mass of the Holy Spirit
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  • Baccalaureate Mass of the Holy Spirit

Following the Mass, and after some brief refreshments, guests moved to the Moody Auditorium, where the Commencement ceremony began with the procession of the College governors, faculty, and graduates. After a brief introduction, the day’s speakers took to the podium.

In the Senior Address, John Metilly (’23) exhorted his classmates, who have pursued intellectual wisdom at the College, to pursue the more excellent wisdom of the Cross, especially in this time of farewells. “Like the hero Odysseus, we must leave the island and turn our ships to the open ocean,” said Mr. Metilly. “There will be great storms and great adversity. The world will try its best to destroy our boats; now, more than ever before, the dark storm clouds conspire against us. But have no fear: All things work for the good for those who love God.”

Then came the Commencement Address. This year’s speaker was Daniel T. Flatley, a trustee of one of the preeminent Catholic philanthropies in the Northeast, The Flatley Foundation, carrying on the philanthropic legacy of his parents, Charlotte and Thomas Flatley. Mr. Flatley has been a key partner in establishing the College’s New England campus, in recognition of which the Board of Governors voted to induct him into the Order of St. Albert, an honor reserved for its most indispensable benefactors.

After his induction, Mr. Flatley addressed the graduates. “Never forget this place and the men and women working here who are completely and totally dedicated to you — to your physical, intellectual and spiritual well-being,” he said. “The benefactors who have written checks for you to attend this fine college hope it does not end with you. Be productive, and don’t forget those coming along after you!”

Then, one by one, the College’s latest seniors became its newest alumni, receiving their diplomas and hoods. After singing the customary Non nobis domine — a tradition established at the College’s first graduation in 1975 — the Class of 2023 departed the Moody Auditorium to take its place in God’s great vineyard which is the wider world.

Photos: Graduation Ceremony
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