Saints come to at St. Aloysius School

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press

GILBERTVILLE – Want to meet the saints?
Then come along with The Catholic Free Press to St. Aloysius Catholic School. It’s Catholic Schools Week, and on Tuesday students are dressed as saints. (That’s one way of getting out of uniforms!)
The reasons for their choice of saint range from the comical to the profound.
In the entrance we meet St. Bernadette of Lourdes, a.k.a. Hailey Casiello, a fifth-grader.
“I chose her because I thought it was really cool that she actually saw Mary at the grotto,” explains Hailey. “I like that she thought the water was cold and she was going to go across, but she didn’t. And then she saw Mary and prayed, and then she went across and it was warm.”
Hailey quotes St. Bernadette as saying, “Smile; God loves you.”
Stepping into grade eight, we notice what appears to be a large snake around one student’s neck. Closer examination reveals it’s a stuffed eel. It’s owner, Christopher Rice, the only seventh-grader in the 83-student school, explains that he chose St. Francis of Assisi “because I really love animals and I have a lot of stuffed animals at home.” With him today are a panda, a polar bear he’s had since he was little, and a bald eagle he bought on a trip to Alaska – with money he was given for food. (He found free food.)
Ironically, beside the animal lover is the hunter. Alex St. Jacques, representing St. Hubert, patron of hunters, says he hunts pheasants and deer with his grandfather.
“We pray to St. Hubert every time we go out,” Alex says.
Classmate Anthony Adams is dressed as St. John Paul II, one of the first saints he heard about. (He’s too young to have met him.)
“I guess he was a good pope for the modern age,” says Anthony.
Nature-loving Natalie Luukko explains why she chose St. Kateri Tekakwitha, patron of nature: “I thought she was pretty.”
Other classmates also found a patron of their interests.
For Eden Fanelli, adorned with flowers, it’s St. Therese, the Little Flower, “because I like flowers.”
Madison Clough has a toy horse to represent St. Eligius, who is associated with the animal she likes to ride.
Andrew Letendre says he forgot to dress up, but would choose St. Cecilia, patron of music, which he’s interested in.
Going to kindergarten, we find interest in the military.
“I like the Army,” says Forrest Goodrich, explaining why he’s wearing camouflage to represent St. Michael the Archangel. Cooper Maio echos that. For Chase Shunaman, it’s the Air Force.
Heidi Samek is outfitted as a different warrior: St. Joan of Arc. Asked why she chose this saint, Heidi admits, “I didn’t; my mom did.”
Some classmates aren’t in costume, but designs on their clothing hint at their saint: hearts for St. Valentine, apples for the educator St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Gabriel Mailhot chose St. John the Baptist “because I like him a lot.”
Why?
“He’s a baptist; he baptized people.”
Teacher’s aide Hannah Wrzesien has donned scrubs to represent St. Camillus de Lellis, patron of nurses.
“I’m thankful for nurses,” she explains. “They do a lot for us.”
Caring for people is important in first grade too, where we meet white-coated Jakob McBride representing St. Jacob of Nisibis, who is associated with pharmacists.
“I like pharmacists,” the child explains. His grandfather is a pharmacist.
Then there’s Mother Teresa in blue and white. Hannah Mobbs says she doesn’t know why she’s depicting this saint, so teacher Carrie Abreu steps in: “We talked about how important she was when she was helping the poor, and we liked that.”
Paul Barbale took a different approach; his shirt depicts a soccer ball, basketball, etc. He chose St. Sebastian, patron of athletes, “because I like sports.”
Some first-graders represented St. Francis with stuffed animals, that have been put aside so as not to distract the students.
“All of our pets right now are in day care,” explains Miss Abreu.
Moving on to grades two and three, we first meet not a saint, but the saint-maker.
“I already know the Jesus pose,” proclaims second-grader Parker Keefe, spreading his arms wide, as Christ is often depicted.
“Why is that the Jesus pose?” the miniature Messiah is asked.
“Because one hand’s holding the cross and one hand’s holding the Bible.” It seems he dressed up as the Lord “because Jesus is our Savior.”
Representing Jesus’ mother is Alanis Correa.
“I wanted to know what it feels like to be Mary,” the third-grader explains. “I wanted to feel how Mary would feel if her son died on the cross. It feels sad, but it feels good to know that my son is in heaven now and in a safe place.”
Teacher Kathy Knight’s class was temporarily in the care of Roberta McQuaid, school director, who wears a wreath of rosemary to represent St. Fiacre, patron of gardeners. The students ask to eat their snacks. Granted permission, and without further instruction, they say grace together aloud, crossing themselves as they finish.
Saints-in-the-making, let’s hope!
“It’s Catholic Schools Week; it’s all about fun,” and the students like to dress up, Mrs. McQuaid says later. “But it’s important to have the faith represented every day of the week.”
On Monday, to celebrate the community, students could wear their favorite team colors or sports jersey if they donated to Abby’s House. Older students also delivered baked goods to the fire department and other town offices.
Wednesday, “celebrating our nation,” was for wearing red, white and blue. Thursday, to celebrate vocations, students could be outfitted for “a chosen profession.” Friday, “celebrating the staff,” was billed as elegant dress day; students were invited to “dress to impress.”
Speaking of Tuesday’s focus, Mrs. McQuaid says, “I think it’s important to make saints approachable and (show) they’re for the modern day.” And ask their intercession, like a young hunter already does.

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