This year was Jerry Anselmo’s eighth time attending the annual Grandparents Mass and Brunch. He thinks it was his eighth, anyway. Over the years, he has attended with both of his grandsons, Massimo Sano, who graduated in 2023, and Luca Sano, a senior this year. Regardless of how many times he has been, he still looks forward to the event each year.
“The way the world is today, being able to get together with your grandchildren… in a religious setting is very important because you don’t get that opportunity,” Anselmo said. “We, as grandparents… maybe a few times a year, we get to go to Mass with them.”
Anselmo and Sano were two of more than 700 grandparents and students who gathered in the Rockhurst Performance Gym on March 1, 2026 for the annual event. As the name suggests, it combines Mass with a meal, giving grandparents an opportunity to worship and fellowship with their grandsons in a setting they do not often experience.
“The grandparents hear about Rockhurst from their grandsons, but they never really get to see it–except maybe at a sporting event,” Rockhurst Director of Engagement Moira Healy said. “They get to see the school, and we want the grandparents to be as in love with Rockhurst as the students.”
At 10 a.m., students escorted their grandparents into the gym. The space had been transformed from an athletic venue into a place of worship. The Mass was celebrated by Rockhurst principal Rev. Stephen Kramer, S.J. In his homily, he emphasized the importance of trusting God and putting full faith in His plan.
“The event was set up nicely. The gym was totally packed, and Fr. Kramer gave a very interesting homily, and my grandparents loved it and appreciated how welcoming he was,” senior Ryan Adamson said.
Multiple students participated in the Mass as readers, gift bearers and liturgical singers. Their involvement displayed the role students play in the Rockhurst community and allowed grandparents to watch their grandsons take part.
Senior Eli Short was a student reader, reading the petitions.
“It meant a lot to be there with Eli. It’s special to see him in his school environment,” Polly Klenda, Short’s grandmother, said. “Seeing him participate in Mass was great. He seemed really proud to be there.”
After the Mass concluded, grandparents and students were dismissed from their tables and moved into the Barry Commons, where food was served by Flik Independent School Dining.
“The brunch was great. Being able to spend time and share a meal with my grandparents who only come to town a few times a year was a great experience,” Short said.
Following brunch, many students gathered in the Barry Commons. This gave grandparents an opportunity to meet their grandsons’ friends and get a glimpse into their everyday lives. Some students took the time to briefly show their grandparents around the school. Many grandparents had visited Rockhurst for an athletic event or a school play but had never seen the places their grandsons spend so much of their time.
“This will be my grandparents’ last year at the event, so it definitely means something special to them,” senior Skyler Tyson said. “I always looked forward to seeing how happy they were to be there, and how excited they were to experience a little bit of Rockhurst with me.”
For many grandparents, like Anselmo, the event has become a family tradition, attending with multiple grandsons over the years. This creates an opportunity for them to connect in a way they do not often get.
“I was able to talk to Luca a little bit about the importance of faith, and how much it is going to mean to him in the future, and that he needs to hold on to what he is seeing right now,” Anselmo said.
Making this scale of an event possible requires coordination between multiple administrators and departments throughout the school.
“There are a lot of moving parts. I had to work with the pastoral department to make sure we have all the typical Mass pieces, Flik to serve the food, and the facilities department to set everything up the way we needed it,” Healy said.
Each of these groups plays an important role in making the event the special moment it is meant to be for grandparents.
“I think it is a great idea that they have the grandparents together with the grandsons at a Mass at the school, and it helps with the religious aspect of bonding that we should have,” Anselmo said.
“I’ve enjoyed both going there with Luca, and also with Massimo, so we find it… very fulfilling. Hopefully it’ll be… something that he’ll remember, as time goes on, as a time he enjoyed being with us.”
