Students at All Saints School of St. John Vianney had two reasons to celebrate on March 4. First, they welcomed Bishop Nelson Perez for his first visit to their campus, for an all-school Mass and touring of the building. Second, the eighth-grade boys won the CYO Division II basketball championship the day before -- on March 3.
And by the time Mass was over, there was a third reason to celebrate because the bishop announced that they would get a day off school on March 18.
Colorful signs welcoming Bishop Perez were posted throughout the school, which is located on the grounds of the Center for Pastoral Leadership in Wickliffe. Mass was celebrated by Bishop Perez with Father Tom Johns, St. John Vianney pastor, and Father Peter Morris, parochial vicar, assisting. He said the Mass intentions were for the school family and in a special way, for Terri Armelli, the school principal, who is dealing with some health issues.
Instead of being read aloud, the first reading was presented as a dramatization with several students taking their places near the altar as they recited their portions of the reading.
During his homily, the bishop asked students what made their school special. Their responses included religion, the teachers, their friends, the principal, Father Johns (who is celebrating the 41st anniversary of his ordination this year), Father Morris (who is marking two years as a priest this year), learning about God, the chapel and Sister Veronica.
The bishop asked the students about the name of their school – All Saints. He asked them to think about who are saints.
“Your school is for all the saints – not just a few,” he said.
Bishop Perez told the students that at his first parish he spent time visiting with students in their classrooms and he asked them to write about a saint. Some of the students wrote about popular or well-known saints but a few wrote about one woman the bishop described as a living saint.
She had some disabilities, but she was always helping others. He said she would shop for the elderly people in the neighborhood without being asked.
“When someone asked her why she did it, she said it was because she loved God,” he told the students. The bishop reminded the students that anyone can be a saint. “We’re all called to love God and to share that love. We are called in different ways – some are ordinary and some are extraordinary,” he said, encouraging the students to live holy lives, love God and be kind.
Before the final blessing, a group of girls using ribbons performed to religious music. The school choir, consisting primarily of fifth- through sixth-graders, also sang at the Mass.
During his tour, Bishop Perez stopped by classrooms to visit students and teachers, saw science and technology equipment, the school’s makerspace, greeted younger students as they prepared to head out for recess and even got acquainted with one teacher’s guinea pig.
All Saints School was founded in 1977. There are 339 students in preschool through grade eight. The school was named a Purple Star School in 2018 for its commitment to serving military students and families.
