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The Saints at All Saints

We will be spending a lot of time this year thinking about the lives of the saints, and they will have a very visible presence around the school and in classrooms.

Veneration of Saints

Catholics Do Not Worship saints; they only worship God.

Catholics believe that saints are holy women and men who through their good works on earth, have died and have gone to heaven. Therefore Catholics venerate saints. This means they pay them respect for what they have done and, as they are in heaven, they can pray to saints and ask them to intercede on their behalf to God.

Our Lady, as the mother of Jesus has a special place in the heart of all Catholics, and she is sometimes referred to as the Queen of All Saints.

In our spiritual journey in life, we are all called to be saints, living out the gospel values.

Each Year Group will have a Saint, who embodies a particular aspect of Catholic Social Teaching and in addition each Form will have their own saint associated with them.

In addition, there will be a saint of the week, and other key feast days will be marked.

Year Group	Saint	Description
Year 7		Saint Francis of Assisi was a Catholic friar who gave up a life of wealth to live a life of poverty. He established the Franciscan Order of friars and the women's Order of the Poor Ladies. Francis was known for his love of nature and animals. There are many stories about Saint Francis and his preaching to animals. It is said that one day he was talking to some birds when they began to sing together. Then they flew into the sky and formed the sign of a cross. This is why he has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Care of Creation.
Year 8		St Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 until he was assassinated in 1980. He was outspoken about human rights violations in El Salvador – particularly after the murder of his close friend Father Rutilio Grande in March 1977. During his three years as archbishop, Romero repeatedly denounced violence and spoke out on behalf of the victims of the civil war. In a time of heavy press censorship, his weekly radio broadcasts were often the only way people could find out the truth about the atrocities that were happening in their country. Archbishop Romero was shot dead on 24 March 1980, aged 62, while celebrating Mass. This is why he has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Solidarity and Peace.
Year 9		St Vincent de Paul is a French saint who was known for his charity work, particularly helping the poor people in France in the 17th century. He helped set up groups of people in different areas to visit the sick and poor giving medicine and food to people, and in setting up hospitals for the poor. His work today is carried on through the Society of Vincent de Paul (SVP). This is why he has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Community and Participation.
Year 10		St Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan in the 19th century. After many years of being bought and sold as a slave, Josephine Bakhita came to Italy and went to a convent in Venice where she became a catholic and devoted the rest of her life to God. She forgave her enslavers and became well known for her kindness of spirit. This is why she has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Human Dignity and Respect.
Year 11		St Teresa of Calcutta founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 and worked in India after she heard a call to “follow Christ into the slums and serve him among the poorest of the poor”. She formed a community of volunteers who devoted their lives to help alleviate sickness and poverty in Calcutta. She was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1979 and she died in 1997. This is why she has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Preferential Option for the Poor.
Sixth Form		St Joseph was the husband of Mary, the Mother of God. He was a carpenter by trade, and Jesus growing up also learnt how to be a carpenter. St Joseph is held up as a model of workers, who deserve dignity and respect for the good work that they do. This is why he has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Dignity of Workers.

Year Group

Saint

Description

Year 7

St Francis

Saint Francis of Assisi was a Catholic friar who gave up a life of wealth to live a life of poverty. He established the Franciscan Order of friars and the women's Order of the Poor Ladies.

Francis was known for his love of nature and animals. There are many stories about Saint Francis and his preaching to animals. It is said that one day he was talking to some birds when they began to sing together. Then they flew into the sky and formed the sign of a cross.

This is why he has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Care of Creation.

Year 8

St Oscar Romero

St Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 until he was assassinated in 1980. He was outspoken about human rights violations in El Salvador – particularly after the murder of his close friend Father Rutilio Grande in March 1977.

During his three years as archbishop, Romero repeatedly denounced violence and spoke out on behalf of the victims of the civil war. In a time of heavy press censorship, his weekly radio broadcasts were often the only way people could find out the truth about the atrocities that were happening in their country. Archbishop Romero was shot dead on 24 March 1980, aged 62, while celebrating Mass.

This is why he has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Solidarity and Peace.

Year 9

St Vincent de Paul

St Vincent de Paul is a French saint who was known for his charity work, particularly helping the poor people in France in the 17th century. He helped set up groups of people in different areas to visit the sick and poor giving medicine and food to people, and in setting up hospitals for the poor.

His work today is carried on through the Society of Vincent de Paul (SVP).

This is why he has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Community and Participation.

Year 10

St Josephine Bakhita

St Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan in the 19th century. After many years of being bought and sold as a slave, Josephine Bakhita came to Italy and went to a convent in Venice where she became a catholic and devoted the rest of her life to God. She forgave her enslavers and became well known for her kindness of spirit.

This is why she has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Human Dignity and Respect.

Year 11

St Teresa

St Teresa of Calcutta founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 and worked in India after she heard a call to “follow Christ into the slums and serve him among the poorest of the poor”. She formed a community of volunteers who devoted their lives to help alleviate sickness and poverty in Calcutta. She was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1979 and she died in 1997.

This is why she has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Preferential Option for the Poor.

Sixth Form

St Joseph

St Joseph was the husband of Mary, the Mother of God. He was a carpenter by trade, and Jesus growing up also learnt how to be a carpenter.

St Joseph is held up as a model of workers, who deserve dignity and respect for the good work that they do.

This is why he has been chosen as the Saint to represent the Catholic Social Teaching of Dignity of Workers.

The Saints at All Saints

Veneration of Saints

Catholic Life