Hundreds of students and staff at Ottawa’s St. Peter High School gathered on the school’s football field for an outdoor Mass focused on faith, courage and the year ahead, according to the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
Students helped organize the gathering as well as take part in it. A student band led by Geoff Dignam performed the opening and closing music, while members of the student tech team arrived early to prepare the field and stage.
The school-wide celebration took place in sunshine, bringing students and staff outside their regular classroom routines for a morning of prayer and reflection.
Fr. Waldemar addressed the uncertainty that can accompany a new beginning. He encouraged students to approach change with courage and faith, telling them that God would be with them as they faced new opportunities and challenges.
The board said his message reflected its spiritual theme, We Are Called to Nourish New Beginnings. The theme provided a focus for students to consider how they respond to change and what they hope to bring to the school year.
Fr. Waldemar also linked his message to the school’s Knights identity, discussing courage, strength, service and humility. He described courage not as an absence of fear, but as a willingness to continue through difficulty, support someone in need and trust in God amid uncertainty.
His remarks invited students to consider how those values could guide their treatment of others, extending the meaning of being a Knight beyond the school’s name.
Principal Dana Power welcomed students and expressed her hopes for a positive year ahead. Alongside the music and prayer, the gathering gave the school community time to reflect together before returning to its regular routines.
