"What you hold on to you lose. What you give away you can never run out of," Father Michael Himes said. "Let me suggest to you that that applies to our education as well."

"The reason to be educated is to teach somebody else. You never fully grasp the fruits of your education until you give it away," he said.

Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley gave delivered remarks before the final blessing.

He thanking Father Himes for his homily, he said, "Father you hit it right out of the park. The Boston Red Sox should get you."

The cardinal praised the virtue of the two Jesuit educational institutions in their years of service to the archdiocese.

"The Church's vision is to pass on the Catholic faith and to serve the whole community through our parishes, our schools, social services, healthcare institutions and B.C. High and Boston College have been a very important part in the history of our local Church, and we are all delighted to be a part of this magnificent celebration here in Fenway park," he said.

The Mass formally launched the university's Sesquicentennial Celebration, concluding in November 2013, that will feature six academic symposia; a sesquicentennial speakers series; a founder's day celebration; a student concert at Symphony Hall; a convocation of Catholic college presidents; a service program in which each B.C. student and alumnus will be asked to perform 150 minutes of volunteer community service; and the release of a GPS-guided campus tour app called "Tour of the Heights," two books and a documentary, among other events listed at www.bc.edu/150.