Christendom College in Front Royal, VA, inaugurated classes at its new Institute for Liturgical Formation this summer, welcoming its first cohort of students to campus to study and grow in their faith over several weeks in the Shenandoah Valley. The Institute, launched earlier this year, seeks to educate and train individuals in preparing for and celebrating liturgy so they can more effectively serve the Church’s mission to worship God.
Over a dozen students from across the United States participated in the inaugural summer session, including priests, religious, and lay liturgical leaders. They took four courses taught by Christendom faculty, deepening their understanding of the Church’s liturgy both intellectually and spiritually.
For Michael Bursch, a sacred architect from Northern Virginia, the Institute offered the chance to deepen his knowledge of the liturgy and its role in his work designing churches.
“From intellectually stimulating class lectures by prominent liturgical educators to participating in the beautiful and reverent liturgies celebrated during the program, we were immersed in the great tradition of the liturgy of the Church,” Bursch said. “Both the mind and the heart were formed by and for the liturgy, with the whole program constantly pointing to the High Priest of the divine liturgy, Jesus Christ.”
Bursch first learned about the Institute in the Adoremus Bulletin, directed by Institute co-founder Christopher Carstens. Discovering that the program would be offered in his own backyard in Virginia, and desiring to add a degree in liturgy to his sacred architecture background, Bursch applied and was accepted.
Over two consecutive two-week sessions in July, Bursch and his fellow students studied under Christendom’s faculty while also fully experiencing the liturgy during daily Mass, Adoration, and the Liturgy of the Hours in Christ the King Chapel.
“The cohort at the Institute was incredible and had a beautiful diversity,” Bursch said. “From a priest who is the director of worship for a diocese to religious sisters teaching and serving in both urban and rural communities, to laity serving in parish music ministries, every member brought a unique vantage point and rich liturgical and theological knowledge to the table.
“It was a wonderful experience,” he added, “growing in knowledge and faith, all while ultimately pursuing Christ through the liturgy.”
A fellow participant, Father Jeff Fernandez, traveled from the Diocese of San Jose, CA, where he serves as Director of the Office of Worship and episcopal Master of Ceremonies. With such a demanding role, opportunities for further study were limited—making the Institute’s summer schedule a perfect fit.
“The Institute helped in renewing and gaining further knowledge of my understanding once again of the Church’s liturgical traditions,” Father Fernandez said. “I hope to share my knowledge with the people I work with in the chancery and the parishes within the diocese, especially if I am invited for talks or workshops that deal with the liturgical life of the Church; and personally, to be more conscious of what my responsibilities as priest and minister of the sacraments are as I apply those things I gained through the Institute.”
That same desire to be more conscious of responsibilities in the liturgy is what drove Tess Greco to apply to the Institute. The Director of Music at St. Joan of Arc Parish, Arvada, CO, Greco wanted a greater understanding of the liturgy and why specific music is more appropriate for the Mass. Greco found that understanding at the Institute, both in the classroom and during the beauty of the liturgy at daily Mass.
“I currently work in a parish of 2,000 families in Colorado,” Greco said. “We began chanting the entrance and communion antiphons two years ago and incorporated polyphony at our principal Mass on Sundays. I’m excited to continue doing that of course but, additionally, to teach my adult choir and kids’ choir why chant takes pride of place in the liturgy. I hope also to teach the youth group and OCIA about the liturgy, sacraments, blessings, and more.”
Over her four weeks on campus, Greco found herself both challenged and inspired.
“We are in a movement where active participation in the liturgy is being honed in on,” Greco said. “People are slowly coming to see the power of true active participation within the liturgy and those called in leadership, especially clergy, musicians, architects, and artists, have a great responsibility to lead people into that transcendental experience.”
The first summer of the Institute proved hugely impactful, both for participants and leaders. For Carstens, the fruits are already evident.
“Serving the Church and her liturgy is a great grace,” Carstens noted. “God has blessed our first summer with excellent students, faculty, and fellowship, and all we pray for—and expect—more of the same in the summers to come.”
For more information on the Institute for Liturgical Formation, visit the Institution for Liturgical Formation here.
