October 8, 2024 // Diocese

Friendship with the Saints Celebrated at Annual All-Schools Mass

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

When attending the All-Schools Mass at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on Monday, October 7, fourth-grade students wore different clothing than their regular school outfits or uniforms. Religious habits, tunics, and silver armor were all appropriate attire for this occasion.

The annual All-Schools Mass celebrates the lives of the saints. Father Mark Gutner, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, celebrated Mass in place of Bishop Rhoades who is taking part in the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in Rome.

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Find more photos from the Mass here.

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Hundreds of students attended the special Mass dressed as their favorite holy men and women. In the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Catholic Schools, fourth-grade students study the lives of the saints. They then choose one to research and represent in costume at the All-Schools Mass.

A handful of girls wore the green mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe, while others chose the religious habit of animal-lover Saint Francis.

“They’re walking in the footsteps of the saints,” said Seth Ball, fourth-grade teacher at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School. “I told them this morning, if they’re putting on the habits and shoes of their saints, they should act like them.”

Ball told Today’s Catholic about the months of preparation before the event. “They’ve spent a lot of time preparing for this day. In August, they chose the saint they would spend the next several months researching.”

He shared that this project is more significant than most others as the hope is that the students befriend the saints they choose and pray to them throughout their lives. “The saint becomes their friend, someone that they can walk with, not just through fourth grade, but throughout life. It also gets them to think about what saint they’d like for confirmation four years later,” added Ball.

Today’s Catholic met up with enthusiastic Most Precious Blood Catholic School students who explained their choices of saints. Celeste picked St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She said she chose the holy woman for her compassion. “She’s my favorite saint and I like how she was with the people when they were sick and dying,” Celeste shared. “They weren’t lonely.”

Louis, her classmate, singled out another 20th century saint, St. Maximillan Kolbe. “Me and my dad read a book about him every week,” Louis explained. “I know that he died in a starvation bunker to save a guy who wanted to see his family again.”

David Maugel, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the diocese, talked to Today’s Catholic about the importance of the event. “When these kids are twenty, thirty years old, they’re going to remember that day that they were in the Coliseum dressed as their favorite saint. All the studying they did may strengthen them in a time in life when they need it to stay with the faith.”

Maugel then shared his joy at seeing youth come closer to their Catholic Faith. “It is just really amazing in this day and age where people say the youth do not understand their relationship with Christ, to see hundreds of kids in the Coliseum celebrating Mass in a reverent way dressed up as their favorite saints.”

Father Gurtner also delighted in the fervor of the students, joining them on the floor during his homily. He explained how the saints demonstrate God’s love in daily living. “St. Vincent de Paul shows us that helping the poor brings us closer to God. If we want someone else to help us, we should help others the way we want to be helped,” Father Gurtner said.

In the end, Father Gurtner’s homily captured the message at the heart of the event. “God loves us so much that he doesn’t leave us on our own. He teaches us to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, to love our neighbor as ourselves and shows us, through the saints, how to do that.”