Knight Life | Page 6

A Cloud of Witnesses

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This is what the saints have always done, spreading the light of the Lord ... and transforming the world into a welcoming home for everyone.

-Pope Benedict XVI

(Saints cont. from pg 5) down to their top five, they then delve into exploring each of them in order to decide on the one saint that is best suited to them. Trivette says that the students are then encouraged to pick one that is similar to themselves; this helps them connect with the saint and see the possibilities in the project: “By researching and understanding a Saints life, the students are then able to see that they could be like that saint one day.” says Trivette. Celia Velasquez a fifth grader who participated in the project this year said she chose Saint Cecilia “ because she reminded me of myself. She loved God, and loved music and singing.”

The students then write an essay answering the question “Who am I?” from the point-of-view of their chosen saint. Although Valesquez considered this to be “the hardest

considered this to be “the hardest thing” because of the amount of writing she had to do, this enabled her to learn many new things about St. Cecilia.

This project not only allows students to gain new knowledge about the saints lives but allows them to become a saint-for-a-day. Fifth grader Beckman Nobles who chose St. Francis of Assisi enjoyed the experience of introducing others to his saint by way of imitation: “I really like the idea of dressing up and showing everyone a saint. Learning new things about the Saints is fun!” Nobles also noted that everyone should learn about St. Francis of Assisi because “He really loved God. He was really amazing, really holy, and performed many miracles, like when he spoke to the wolf, and the wolf listened.” The wolf happens to be Nobles’ favorite animal, yet another cool connection between the 13th century mystic and his young admirer.