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Society of Catholic Scientists to host Gold Mass

The Saint Vincent College chapter of the Society of Catholic Scientists (SCS) will be hosting a Gold Mass at 5 p.m. Wednesday, January 25th  in the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica.

The Gold Masses for Scientists that are sponsored by the SCS follow in the tradition of special Masses that are held for members of a given profession. The first and oldest of these Masses, having been introduced in the 13th century, is the Red Mass for Lawyers and Lawmakers. The tradition also includes White Masses for Healthcare Professionals and Blue Masses for Law Enforcement Personnel, both introduced in the 1930s.

According to its website, the SCS “hopes to create spiritual fellowship among Catholic scientists, science educators and science students at the local level.”

Saint Vincent’s chapter of the SCS was formed in the fall of 2020 by inaugural members Dr. Daniel Vanden Berk, SCS chapter president and associate professor of physics; Dr. John Smetanka, associate professor of physics; Dr. Stephen Jodis, Dean of the Boyer School; Dr. William Birmingham, professor and chairperson of the Department of Computing & Information Systems; Father Shawn Anderson, O.S.B., associate professor of biology; Rev. Michael Antonacci, O.S.B., assistant professor of physics; and Brother Norman Hipps, professor of mathematics and former Saint Vincent College President. The first Gold Mass at Saint Vincent was held on April 28, 2021.

A reception will be held following the mass in the Dupré Science Pavilion at 6:15 p.m., which will include a scholarly poster showcase and discussion presented by the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing faculty and students. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to see shows in the Planetarium and demonstrations in the Human Anatomy Lab.

The mass and reception are open and free to the public. Those wishing to attend the reception must RSVP no later than Friday, January 20th and may do so by contacting Tammy Marsh either by phone at (724) 805-2631 or email at tammy.marsh@stvincent.edu.