Students take on role of saints
ZELIENOPLE — Parents and students were graced with the presence of saints Friday at St. Gregory Catholic School.
Twenty-three fifth graders dressed as canonized saints of the Catholic Church who they researched as part of the Saints Alive presentation. The program was part of the school's celebration of National Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 31 to Feb. 6.
Maureen Kelly, a fourth to sixth grade teacher, had her fifth grade religion class members choose a saint, research the saint's life and give a presentation, complete with scenery and costumes.
“They were excited about doing everything except (the performance),” Kelly said, since some students were nervous about performing in front of their peers and families.
This year, students chose saints including St. Brigid, St. Joan of Arc, and St. Luke, but there are some saints who are chosen more often that others, she said.
These popular saints include Saints Patrick, Francis and Cecilia, Kelly said. She was surprised that St. Nicholas is not chosen as often by students.
However, this year, St. Nicholas was represented by Anna Byers of Cranberry Township. Anna, 11, played the role of Santa Claus in a play at the Strand Theater in December, which is why she decided to look into St. Nicholas' background, she said.
Anna stressed in her performance that the idea of St. Nicholas as Santa Claus is from German traditions, not Catholic ones.
For Anna, the project was engaging because it was a more involved, long-term project, she said. She enjoyed taking her research and applying it to a performance.
Dylan Paulson of Slippery Rock performed last, wearing green bath towels draped as the robes of St. Patrick. Dylan, 11, also carried a tree branch as tall as himself as a staff, with a wooden recorder in hand.
Dylan chose St. Patrick because he is the patron saint invoked against snakes, which are Dylan's favorite animal.
While there are many questions about whether St. Patrick truly banished all snakes from Ireland in the 5th century, Dylan said, true to his character, he would not ruin the mystery. “Nobody really knows,” Dylan said.
Dylan's costume was completed with a fake beard. The only downside to the project was all of the hair in his mouth, he said.Santino Melucci of Cranberry chose a saint who had never been picked before: St. Cajetan, the patron saint of Argentina, the unemployed and good fortune.Santino, 10, chose his saint because St. Cajetan was a lawyer just like Santino's father, he said.For Santino, the artistic part of the project was the best, he said, which Anna and Dylan seconded.There's something about painting your own scenery and planning a costume that makes the project that much more worthwhile, they agreed. Unless there is an annoying fake beard like Dylan's.
