“Are you all saints?” asked Father Sean Manson of St. Mary’s Parish in Plainfield to the third grade class at Mother Seton School on 15th Street and New York Avenue in Union City on Tuesday.
“No!” shouted the class in unison.
“No. Who here isn’t a saint?” Manson asked the class.
The truth is, they all were saints – at least for one day, that is. The Mother Seton School held their first parade for All Saints Day, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. on the previous day, which was Halloween.
“This was the first year,” said Principal Sister Mary McErlaine. “But there will be many more to come.” All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation in the Catholic Church where all of the saints are recognized. After concentrating on the different saints for a month, the students were able to choose their favorite saint to dress as for the parade.
“This was the result of a month-long culmination of projects,” said McErlaine.
Among some of the favorites were King David, the Angel Gabriel and Joan of Arc.
Some of the students in the third grade chose their saint for the bravery that the saint had portrayed in his or her life.
“Some of the students liked certain saints because of the work they had done,” said McErlaine.
Jennifer Morales said that she picked Joan of Arc because she was able to lead her troops out to war. Saint Michael and King David were favored for the weapons that they used in their battles.
“[Saint Michael] used a sword to defend God from the devil,” said Sean Denis, who said he chose Saint Michael because he had the strongest sword.
David Wynter decided to dress as King David, who used his brain to defeat Goliath with a slingshot, because he was able to knock down a giant.
“Other students picked their patron saints to dress as, the ones they were named after,” said McErlaine. Eddie Schmale, dressed as Saint Edward, said that he picked his saint because St. Edward was kind to the poor and sick. However, when asked if the saint’s name also played a factor in his decision, he shyly nodded.
Mary Tudela, who dressed as Saint Claire, complete with a bouquet of flowers like she saw in the picture of the saint, chose her saint because “My teacher said she was beautiful and she is beautiful.”