Chicago, IL (January 30, 2008) —Catholic elementary and secondary school students from across the Archdiocese of Chicago will gather at Holy Name Cathedral, State and Superior streets at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 5, for the 30th annual liturgy commemorating African-American Heritage Month.

Presiding at this Mass will be Fr. David Jones, pastor of Chicago’s St. Benedict the African-East Parish. Rev. Roy A. Lee, of the Archdiocese of Atlanta will deliver the homily. The liturgy will incorporate Scripture readings and music emphasizing the third Kwanzaa principle of Ujima, or collective work and responsibility, and celebrate African-American culture in music, song and dance.

Hundreds of students from more than 30 Catholic elementary and high schools in Cook and Lake counties will join in the celebration as banner carriers, ushers, lectors and readers, incense bearers, and musicians. The Mass will feature a performance by a choir of 60 Archdiocesan school children who have attended Saturday morning practice sessions in January at Chicago’s St. Dorothy Church under the direction of Timothy Walker, music director at Chicago’s St. Thaddeus Church.

Throughout February, and in recognition of African-American Heritage Month, Archdiocesan Catholic schools are incorporating Ujima in studies and projects as a way of teaching students about working together to make a difference in their homes, their schools, and in their communities.