St. Dominic Regional High School has a long history of French culture and heritage tied closely with its Catholic faith. The French IV class at St. Dom’s decided to commemorate this by reviving the tradition of an annual French mass for the school. From the altar serving and music to the readings and responses, the class, with the help of teacher Mr. Thibodeau, coordinated all parts of the mass.

Father Chouinard, a native francophone, graciously presided over the mass. The students rehearsed all of the French music, including songs like “Sais-tu,” “Jouez Pour le Seigneur,” and “Christ Aujourd’hui Nous Appelle.” The singers were accompanied by Mr. Thibodeau on the piano and French IV students William Ellis and Benjamin Horton on the violin. Each student was also assigned a certain part of the mass to either do a reading or to help lead the school in responses. Mr. Thibodeau worked with each student to perfect the pronunciation, but a lot of the learning came from the students helping each other.

The participation from the student body was great. Everyone was very enthusiastic for something new. It is the hope of the current French IV class that future classes will continue to keep this tradition alive in the years to come.