St. Anna welcomes the Bishop

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

LEOMINSTER – Bishop McManus told students at St. Anna Elementary School about saints – and how to be one – when visiting there March 9.
It was a chance for the youngsters to meet the bishop, said the principal, Renée Legendre.
“If we can get this generation back into the Church …” she told him.
At Mass in St. Anna Church, Bishop McManus asked students about their school’s patroness, pointed out statues of saints and told about Blessed Carlo Acutis, an Italian who died several years ago at age 15 and was beatified last October in Assisi. 
Carlo’s parents were non-practicing Catholics, but had him baptized, Bishop McManus said. He loved to visit churches.
“He used to throw kisses to the tabernacle, kisses to Jesus,” the bishop said. And he was “a normal young man”; he played sports and computer games.
He said the youth contracted leukemia, but “always he had great faith in Jesus.” He quoted Carlo as saying, “When you stand before the sun you get a tan; when you kneel before the tabernacle you become a saint.”
“Each of us is called to be a saint,” Bishop McManus told his listeners. He said that when they were baptized “the Holy Spirit came to dwell in your hearts.” In a Catholic school students learn that they have come from God, are going home to God and get there by following Jesus, he said.
“That’s the formula for becoming a saint; anyone in heaven is a saint,” Bishop McManus said. He told students, “You can be a little apostle to your family,”  maybe reminding them of the importance of attending Sunday Mass.
Father Carlos Ruiz, the pastor, said it was the 17th anniversary of Bishop McManus being appointed bishop of the diocese. He had the congregation say a prayer over the bishop and children gave him gifts.
“You cannot come to an Italian parish without getting cookies,” Bishop McManus quipped. “I’ll save these until the end of Lent.”
Father Ruiz recognized the principal and school and church staff for wonderful work during a hard year.
Bishop McManus got to see some of that work touring the school. In the classrooms, he asked students about what they’re learning and blessed them.
Pre-schoolers were having playtime. Kindergartners told him words that begin with “H.” First-graders said they’re learning about God and Lent.
A journal question on a screen for eighth-graders asked what they remembered about Mass with the bishop. Fifth-graders said they’re learning about Holy Orders and sacraments.
As the bishop approached seventh-grade, Mrs. Legendre told him that this is a class of leaders, who will contact her directly with concerns – like Bibles in poor condition. (They got new ones, which the bishop saw.)
He also told the seventh-graders, who are learning Italian, about studying in Rome, and about the “great linguists” he met there from African countries and Poland. He asked students if any of their parents came from other countries, and one talked about Rwanda.
Fourth-graders said they’re learning about the cardinal virtues and the saints in religion and the metric system in math, and the bishop quizzed them.
Meeting school nurse Karen Pantazis in her office, Bishop McManus said, “We should put a sign up, ‘Heroes work here.’”
Standing near a second grader’s desk at another stop, Bishop McManus asked, “Your name is Patrick?” and noted that the student’s patron’s feast day is approaching. He asked the children if they’re preparing for first holy Communion and learned that Father Ruiz is teaching them and that they made their first penance.
At a screen he gave greetings to their classmates learning remotely.
Next it was on to grade 3, where the bishop learned about the story “Charlotte’s Web” and the school-wide collection of food for the parish food pantry.

See Photo Album of the visit