By Kathi Stearns, Staff Writer

ATLANTA – Archbishop John F. Donoghue celebrated Mass and toured the campus of St. Pius X on Oct. 14 as he emphasized the need for schools like St. Pius which have a strong Catholic identity.

He encouraged students to know that no matter what happens in their lives, Christ and His Church will be ready to welcome them back with open arms.

During his homily at the school-wide Mass, Archbishop Donoghue told the story of Callistus, a man born into slavery who later became pope. While Callistus was a slave his master and his household became Christian. Eventually Callistus became the treasurer for a small group of Christians, but somehow lost all the money that had been entrusted to him.

Because robbery was a serious offense Callistus fled to Rome by ship. When his presence on board was noted, Callistus jumped ship, but was caught and sentenced to be a mill slave, a gruesome punishment at the time. His creditors, thinking that he might recover some of the money he had lost, applied to the authorities and arranged for his sentence to be commuted. Callistus, however, found himself in trouble once again. Arrested for brawling in a synagogue, he was sentenced to work in the mines of Sardinia.

Once he had served his sentence, Callistus returned to Rome and attempted to rebuild his reputation in the Christian community. He became keeper of a large cemetery and consolidated ownership of the various private burial grounds which had been entrusted to him. This may have been the first instance of church ownership of land.

Because of his devotion to the Church and his personal reformation Callistus was elected pope in 217 A.D. During his reign Pope Callistus was known as “a very forgiving man,” allowing persons who had renounced the faith or committed grave sins to reenter the Church if they were contrite.

Archbishop Donoghue told the story of Callistus to illustrate the fact that there is always one more chance with Jesus Christ. Through baptism one is given the opening he needs to know and love Christ.

“Even though we might be stubborn and refuse to enter the door at a given moment in our lives, the door remains open, the light still shines through it, and God remains on the other side; (He is) always ready to welcome us in, to welcome us home, and most importantly, to forgive us for something we knew was wrong in the first place, but went ahead and did anyway,” the archbishop said.

He told the students that like Callistus there is no way to determine what God has prepared for each of us. Yet no matter what one experiences he will not be alone. God will always be there for him.

“… But hold onto your faith, believe that you are predestined to glory and eventually nothing that you want will be denied, and everything that you hope to be, will come true.”

The students recognized that the archbishop’s message was an important one. “It is good to be reminded that Jesus loves and forgives me; He will always be there when I need Him,” said senior Michael Clark.

At the conclusion of the Mass the archbishop received a St. Pius sweatsuit from the Student Government Association. “Now I won’t have to always wear that Marist shirt,” the archbishop said as the students responded with thunderous applause.

Students seemed appreciative that the archbishop spent time with them, visiting classes and talking to individuals.

“I’m impressed when the archbishop takes time out of his busy schedule to come visit us,” senior Matt Murphy said. “We get a chance to show him what a good education we’re getting here and to tell him that we support him in whatever decisions he makes.”

Principal Donald T. Sasso said the archbishop’s visit “is always uplifting. He particularly enjoyed the opportunity to meet and interact with our faculty and staff, our students and the parents who were with us. We hope to see him often.”