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More than 7,000 students from Catholic schools around the Twin Cities gathered for Mass at Xcel Energy Center on Monday.

It was the third-ever Mass of the Holy Spirit hosted by the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence. The event brought students from 78 Catholic grade schools to the Mass.  

Gail Dorn chairs the board of directors of the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence, which hosted the event. She said that this is a good chance for kids to meet other people outside their schools, which are often small. 

“I think it’s really important for our Catholic grade school students to see the wider community of the Catholic schools, and to be in a spot so public that they get to celebrate their faith,” Dorn said.

It wasn’t the students’ typical in-school Mass. The morning started with a performance by local Catholic band Sonar Worship, complete with Xcel Energy Center’s colored lights fit for a concert.

William, a seventh grader in an Edina Catholic school, said he’d never seen this many kids his age in the same place before.

“It’s exciting because we can meet new people,” he said.  

Plus, he said, he was excited to be at the Wild stadium.

The Catholic Schools Center of Excellence works with Catholic elementary schools around the state — about 155 of them — to increase enrollment and support their academics.

The event hasn’t been held for four years due to COVID-19. Thousands of students, teachers, the local archbishop and dozens of priests joined this year’s Mass.

“This type of celebration is something we’re really proud to be able to offer,” Dorn said. “We hope to do it again.”

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Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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It was the third-ever Mass of the Holy Spirit hosted by the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence. The event brought students from 78 Catholic grade schools to the Mass.

Catholic school kids gather for Mass at Xcel Energy Center

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