On Friday, September 5, students and staff from Holy Trinity Catholic School in York traveled to New Freedom to spend the day with the St. John the Baptist Catholic School students and staff for a special day celebrating the canonizations of St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Celebrating the day with them was Father Philip Burger, pastor of St. John the Baptist; Father John Kuchinski, pastor of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in York and executive pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic School; and a special friend, Father John Paul Mary, MFVA, a native of New Freedom and former parishioner at St. John the Baptist Parish, who spent much of his childhood skateboarding on St. John’s parish campus. Today, Father John Paul serves as the Employee Chaplain for EWTN.
St. Carlo Acutis reminds us that “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.” With this in mind, and to start their day together, the students attended morning Mass with Father John Paul as the principal celebrant. In his homily, Father John Paul spoke to the children about kindness and St. Carlo’s love for the Eucharist. At the end of Mass, Father Burger and Father Kuchinski joined Father John Paul in Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by a Eucharistic procession around the church and Benediction. Michelle Williams, principal of St. John the Baptist, noted the reverence that all the children, kindergarten through sixth grade, maintained throughout the procession. “The silence was beautiful as we all turned our attention to the Blessed Sacrament,” she said.
After Mass, the students gathered in the school social hall for pizza and other treats, and St. John’s students showed the Holy Trinity students their classrooms. After that, the students returned to the church for one of the highlights of the day, a very special presentation given by Father John Paul featuring extraordinary relics.
Among the relics was a first-class relic, pieces of hair, of St. Carlo Acutis, a relic of St. Maria Goretti, a piece of Jesus’ manger, a piece of the Blessed Mother’s veil, a piece of the pallium, or cloak, of St. Joseph, a piece of the True Cross, a fragment of the Crown of Thorns, blood from St. Pope John Paul II, and more. Father John Paul invited the children to approach and touch their Rosaries to the relics to create a third-class relic.
St. John the Baptist kindergarten teachers Dana Baker and Kelly Santoni were touched by how the children were mesmerized during these moments with the relics. Baker remarked, “Some of my students were just so amazed at what was on display for them to see and having the opportunity to touch their Rosaries with first-class relics was so powerful.” Santoni added, “There was a sense of awe and wonder as the students learned about them.”
Led by Father John Paul, the students also prayed the Rosary together in continued prayer and solidarity with Anunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. St. John the Baptist sixth-grade teacher Dee Kabacinski observed, “The children were so reverent, and hearing their voices rise together to God and Mother Mary in solidarity with children around the world for the Annunciation Catholic School was such a great blessing. Just one more reminder we are called to be the light of the world among the darkness.”
The afternoon continued with playtime on the recess field, and then it was time for the students to bid farewell to one another. Holy Trinity Principal John Scimeca found this to be yet another moving part of the day.
“As we pulled away from the grassy field where the St. John’s students were gathered, their kids waved and yelled loud farewell wishes and our kids returned with a similar level of enthusiasm while waving out of the open windows. Their happiness was apparent from having spent the day together, and you could feel the warmth from exchanging goodbyes…and of course, our children are already asking me about the next opportunity we’ll get to see St. John’s. It’s so important for Catholic schools to build community, and I think the York Deanery does an excellent job of that,” he said.
Reflecting on the events of the day, Holy Trinity sixth-grade teacher Carlie Sartiano expressed that it was wonderful that the students “were able to connect with other students their age to talk about sports, their schools and more importantly, God. Having spent the day with one another in prayer was something that the students will take away for years to come!”
Williams noted that “days like this help our students see that faith is not just something we practice individually, but something we celebrate together as the Body of Christ.” Scimeca agreed: “We’re all called to holiness, and our schools’ mission to make saints, simply put – and these two new saints show that this is possible in the 21st century.”
St. Joe’s Celebrates with a Few of St. Carlo’s Favorite Things
Originally planning to celebrate St. Carlo’s canonization in the spring – before it was postponed after the death of Pope Francis – St. Joseph School in York held a grand celebration for the newest saint that expanded into a family event.
The festivities on Sunday, September 7, included a potluck dinner of Italian foods, stations on St. Carlos and St. Pier Giorgio, and a livestream of the canonizations.
“We had a wonderful turnout of over 75 people and tons of food, including an ice cream sundae bar because St. Carlo Acutis loved ice cream. The stations included a service project, as each new saint was devoted to service, as well as a Eucharistic Miracle station, scavenger hunt, trivia, crafts and obstacle course,” said Principal Melissa Preston.
“Our students learned a lot about the new saints and were excited to celebrate. One of my parent volunteers pointed out that the parents may not be as familiar with the saints so we were hoping that this celebration would help educate parents about these new saints,” she said.
When students returned to school the next day, they celebrated the Blessed Mother’s birthday with Mass and a special recess, with students wearing St. Carlo Acutis t-shirts last year’s sixth-graders designed as part of a contest.
“My goal is to develop a love of our faith for our students and families. I wanted them to see the importance of this (possibly once in a lifetime) opportunity. Our faith is more than knowledge and facts, it can be a fun celebratory time as well,” Preston said.
(Photos courtesy of the schools.)
(Diane Skirpan is the Media Coordinator for St. John the Baptist Parish in New Freedom.)
Main article by Diane Skirpan, Special to the Witness. Sidebar by Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness.
