More than 700 eighth-grade students from twenty archdiocesan schools in the Bronx gathered Thursday for a graduation Mass at the Church of St. Margaret of Cortona in North Riverdale.
“I want to suggest three things to do in reflection, three things to tell God right now,” said Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York, the Mass’ principal celebrant. “Tell God who you are, not what you have, but who you are. Tell God about your hopes, your dreams, your aspirations for these next four years. And think of three people who have shaped you during your years in Catholic school, and tell God, ‘Thank you for those three people,’ because those three people have shown you God.”
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Article by Steven Schwankert published by the Good Newsroom on May 29, 2026
Photo: Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York, addresses eighth grade students during a graduation Mass at St. Margaret of Cortona Church in North Riverdale, May 28, 2026. Photo courtesy of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of New York.