During Catholic Schools Week on January 29, Bernard Hebda, the Archbishop of Minneapolis and St. Paul led Mass. 

The Archbishop governs the entire archdiocese and is the successor to the apostles. “The archbishop is referred to as the shepherd of the flock. His main duties are to the people of the archdiocese, to take care of them, for their well-being physically and spiritually,” Campus Minister Mr. Mike Jeremiah said.

Almost all Catholic schools across the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul are visited by him. “The archdiocese likes to have the Archbishop and the Auxiliary bishop visit all the Catholic schools in the archdiocese,” Jeremiah said. 

The Archbishop’s visit has usually happened at the opening school mass, but this year it was changed to Catholic Schools Week. “He came for the opening school mass, and we just thought last year with his belief in Catholic education to come during Catholic Schools Week,” Jeremiah said. 

Last year, the Archbishop was supposed to visit BSM during Catholic Schools Week but was ultimately unable to due to weather. The Archbishop wasn’t able to reschedule and wasn’t scheduled to return for two more years. The Archbishop is busy with his duties to the church, and his schedule is very tight, so it was a stretch to get him to come a year earlier than he normally would. “He [had] to get out of here by 11:15 to get to another meeting in St. Paul…weeks ago we just found out that the Archbishop would officially be able to make it,” Jeremiah said.

It was tough getting him to come, and he might not even have come at all. “I think it’s really special for us to have this opportunity to have him visit here,” Jeremiah said.