Bob Reddy, Staff Report
The Ave Maria University 2026-2027 Academic Year opened with a Mass at Ave Maria Parish, celebrated by Bishop Emilio E. Biosca, O.F.M. Cap., on Aug. 24, 2026.
Prior to the opening hymn, students carrying banners representing different households of the resident halls at the university came forward. They were followed by faculty, dressed in their academic robes and seated up front while the students sat behind.
Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Emilio were the priests who serve the pastoral needs of the students on campus and at Ave Maria Parish. The bishop and priests wore red vestments, to mark the celebration of the Feast of St. Bartholomew, apostle and martyr.
Bishop Emilio expressed his great joy and privilege at being able to celebrate the opening Mass for the university for the new academic year, offering prayerful support and sincere admiration for this university and its history, goals, founders and benefactors.
“What is being accomplished here in a very special way is of profound importance for the Church and for our society,” Bishop Emilio said. “This is a privileged place where the human person is invited to encounter the truth, and the ultimate truth in Jesus Christ. Here, you gain knowledge that leads to wisdom, virtue, holiness, and service to the community.”
Bishop Emilio noted that it was a tremendous honor to celebrate Mass in the church, in the company of the 12 great apostles, each represented in large statues which stand in the sanctuary, behind the altar.
“We remember St. Bartholomew because of his faithfulness; he encountered Christ and followed him, ultimately giving his life to the Church,” Bishop Emilio said. “The martyrs are tremendous and powerful witnesses of the faith. They were not only knowledgeable about the faith, but their faith was pure and firm. Their confidence in God transmits to us. Christ is not one truth among many; Christ is the truth with which we are willing to live, to suffer, and if necessary, to die.”
One of the few books the bishop took with him for his missionary work in Papua New Guinea was “Acts of the Martyrs.” In it, St. Ambrose, a Father of the Church, wrote that the martyrs are not only part of a history worth remembering, but they offer strength and confidence in the present.
Bishop Emilio concluded with prayer: “May the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose name this university bears – lead every student, professor and member of the community ever more deeply to her Son, Jesus Christ. May Ave Maria University continue to faithfully fulfill its beautiful mission – ‘To form future saints, who will become a fountainhead of renewal for the society and the Church.’”
Following the closing prayer, the bishop presided over a commissioning ceremony for seven new doctoral students in theology who received the mandatum. As part of the doctoral program, they will be engaged as instructors and teaching assistants for courses in Catholic theology at the university. As such, they are required to obtain the mandatum from the local bishop. The object of the mandatum is the content of the professor’s teaching and thus recognizes both the professor’s “lawful freedom of inquiry” and the professor’s commitment and responsibility to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church’s magisterium. As part of the ceremony, before Bishop Emilio and the entire school community, each made a Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity, vowing to remain faithful to the Teachings of the Church.
After the Mass the Bishop greeted students and faculty who thanked him for his presence and inspiring homily.
Prayers and good luck to all of the Ave Maria students this academic year!
As we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25, all are invited to meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation in a unique way. Nine Months with Christ in the Womb draws our attention to Jesus, the God-fetus, during the nine months He lived within Mary. In meditating on the mystery of Christ’s humility in the womb, we foster within a new appreciation for the dignity of our brothers and sisters. Follow nine months of Christ in the womb week-by-week at 
Bishop Frank J. Dewane was among the featured speakers who described how the wording of Amendment 4 uses misleading language and if passed, the new law would be an immediate danger not only to full-term babies but also to mothers and girls.
Following the closing prayer, the Bishop presided over a commissioning ceremony for four new doctoral students in theology who received the mandatum. As part of the doctoral program, they will be engaged as instructors and teaching assistants for courses in Catholic theology at the University. As such, they are required to obtain the mandatum from the Local Bishop. The object of the mandatum is the content of the professor’s teaching, and thus the mandatum recognizes both the professor’s “lawful freedom of inquiry” and the professor’s commitment and responsibility to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church’s magisterium. As part of the ceremony, before Bishop Dewane and the entire school community, each made a Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity, vowing to remain faithful to the Teachings of the Church.
Youth from Our Lady of Grace Parish in Avon Park posted photos from their experience at the conference and expressed their gratitude to generous sponsors who allowed them to attend the event and for the opportunity to experience the beauty of their faith with youth from across the Diocese and Florida.
“That groundwork was prepared for you by the accumulated knowledge you received here at Ave Maria University,” Bishop Dewane said. “Seek God in your lives. Let that be the glory of life for you as graduates.”
“Take the grace that the Lord gives each of us, and live it and go forward,” the Bishop said. “We learn the important lesson that nothing is ‘impossible for God.’ Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her’ (Luke 1:37-38). Without God, we cannot fulfill His Mission. Our Lady understood that, so must each one of us. We have to radically change our inner selves and have that same strength to do the will of the Lord.”
