Multicultural liturgy held
The 2025 Festival of Cultures began on Sunday at a student mass which incorporated global themes.
CSB+SJU kicked off their annual Festival of Cultures with Sunday night Mass featuring a special multicultural liturgy.
“SJUFaith was humbled and privileged to participate in the Festival of Cultures this year,” said Margaret Nuzzolese Conway, the Director of St. John’s Campus Ministry.
The regular 9 p.m. Mass was held in recognition of the Feast of the Lateran Basilica, which celebrates the Mother Church of the Catholic world.
The feast serves as a reminder of the Church’s universality, making it a fitting occasion to celebrate the variety of cultures represented within the CSB+SJU community.
“The Mass fittingly incorporated global themes in honor of the Festival of Cultures, celebrating the recognition and beauty of all God’s people,” Nuzzolese Conway said.
The Festival of Cultures takes place annually, hosted by the Multicultural Center, and includes a wide array of events and moments for the CSB+SJU community to engage and celebrate diversity.
The festival includes international students, students from the United States who have a strong affinity for other countries, as well as varying cultures within the U.S.
Through this celebration, students are invited to share their traditions while learning about others, fostering dialogue and appreciation for the wide range of cultural expressions that enrich the CSB+SJU experience.
“We also prayed in thanksgiving for the Multicultural Center who daily does the work of celebrating difference with CSB+SJU Students and took up a collection for the St. Joseph Food Shelf facing great need at this time,” Nuzzolese Conway said.
Drew Remick and the Liturgy Team organized hymns and readings that represented nearly 10 different languages and worship styles for the multicultural liturgy.
The opening hymn reflected how the varied and splendid gifts of each culture contribute to the ongoing renewal of the Church in every generation.
“Father Nick preached a beautiful homily, referencing how water nourishes and sustains all of us the same, regardless of color, creed, or any other difference, and how we privileged with access to water might do the same to nourish and sustain our brothers and sisters in faith,” Nuzzolese Conway said.
The liturgy featured music from Cuban American composer Tony Alonso, whose work invites reflection on the Church’s diversity, and from Rev. Ricky Manalo, who blends Asian musical traditions inspired by his Filipino and Chinese heritage into the intercultural worship life of today’s Church.
The evening concluded with a South African hymn that echoed Jesus’ call to his disciples, to care for others by sharing the gifts of God and the joy of the Gospel.
“I thought the multicultural Mass gave me a different perspective of the Catholic faith, because it showed me how religion isn’t defined by individual cultures,” said Sophia Anderson, CSB sophomore. “The mass showed me how people from around the world are united under the same faith.”
Anderson and other attendees said the evening served as both a moment of spiritual reflection and a powerful reminder that the global Church is made stronger through diversity.