Students at St. Aloysius School in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood are learning about the lives of the seven Black men and women who are on the path to sainthood in the Catholic Church.
Sister Mary Jean Raymond, parish life coordinator at St. Aloysius-St. Agatha Parish, said the project was part of their Black History Month observance. February is Black History Month.
Each class adopted one of the men and women who are the first African Americans to be considered for sainthood. Large banners for each hang prominently in the church.
Those on the path to sainthood are Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, Venerable Henriette Delille, Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Venerable Mother Mary Lange, Venerable Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Julia Greeley and Servant of God Friar Martin de Porres Maria Ward.
“The classes are learning about the lives of these remarkable men and women and praying to them,” Sister Raymond said. Each student received a bookmark with a picture of their saint. There was a prayer on the back of the bookmark.
In the photo above, some of the students are holding banners that were hung outside their classrooms in the school hallways.
At the start of Catholic Schools Week, Sister Raymond invited the classes to visit the church where they heard the life story of each of the seven candidates. Students reflected on what it means to be a hero and explored who they would say are the heroes in their lives who were worthy of imitating, she added.
Click here to learn more about the seven Black candidates for sainthood. Information about the steps toward sainthood can be found here.