First Posted: 1/26/2015
OTTAWA — There’s few places you’d find a cross, three priests, a deflated football and 450 children sitting in a line of pews.
Of course, many might not think to look in SS. Peter and Paul Parish on Monday afternoon.
The scene was a result of the area’s annual Catholic School Week, a collaboration between three Catholic Schools; SS. Peter and Paul, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Marys, celebrating the importance of the Catholic religion and education.
The week “shows unity in the Catholic faith and education,” said the Rev. Matt Jozefiak of SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Ottawa. “It’s not a competition.”
To kick off the celebration, pupils from all three schools gathered together for Mass at the perish. Pupils participated in the program and led the music portions of Mass, as well.
The goal? To avoid having faith that looks like a deflated football. Instead, pupils should have faith that’s inflated.
When asked how to make a difference as workers charged to go out and help harvest faith, children from every age group raised their hands, shouting suggestions of all kinds; praying or offering blankets, medicine or food.
A seventh-grader from SS. Peter and Paul Catholic School, Owen Raye, participated in the program. He said the week usually includes “a bunch of fun activities.”
Classmates Jacob Fawcett and Dominick Ellioxx, agreed with Owen and said that Catholic School Week was usually “fun” as they “learned a lot about God.”
Owen also pointed out that pupils spent a lot of time bonding with the other Catholic schools. Which, as the Rev. Rick Friebel of SS. Peter and Paul said, is one of the main focuses of the week.
“It helps students feel good about the school they attend and gives a purpose to why we’re all here,” he said.
The week’s celebration includes bingo, spelling bees, spirit wear, multiple assemblies, a skating party, a closing Mass, a presentation of science projects and a carnival. In the weekend before, pupils participated in the churches’ Saturday and Sunday Masses.
“It’s unique to get all the Catholic schools from the county in one place,” said the Rev. Thomas Extegt from St. Anthony of Padua. “It shows how we belong to a larger church. Sometimes, we lose sight of that.”
