New England

On the morning of August 24, Thomas Aquinas College, New England, held its inaugural Convocation exercises, welcoming 28 freshmen and 30 sophomores from some 20 states and 5 countries — the very first students on the Northfield, Massachusetts, campus.

On Tuesday the WASC Senior College and University Commission granted its final approval to Thomas Aquinas College’s plan to launch a branch campus in Northfield, Massachusetts. With accreditation now secured, Thomas Aquinas College, New England, is one step closer to opening its doors to its first students this fall.

Note: Rev. Ryan Rooney is a graduate of the Northfield Mount Hermon school, which previously occupied the campus of Thomas Aquinas College’s planned New England campus. On Tuesday morning, prior to the signing ceremony at which the National Christian Foundation formally donated the campus to the College, Fr. Rooney offered a Mass for the College’s officials and friends at St. Patrick’s Church in Northfield. Below is the text of his homily.

Tuesday morning in Western Massachusetts’ historic Connecticut River valley marked, as President Michael F. McLean described it, “a monumental day in the history of Thomas Aquinas College.”