Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / Pick a patron saint contest
Pick a patron saint contest
Students from across the Archdiocese of Detroit offer their suggestions
by Jared Field of The Michigan Catholic
Published December 9, 2009 (Online Special)
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"St. Therese in a garden," crafted by 8-year-old Julia Walker of Oak Ridge Elementary School, Royal Oak, was the winner in the drawing portion of the Finding Our Patron Saint contest sponsored by the Archdiocese of Detroit, The Michigan Catholic and WDEO (990 AM). Older students wrote essays.
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Isabelle Sawicki, age 7, Grade 2, at St. Mary Catholic School, Royal Oak, is the second-place winner with her picture of St. John Bosco.
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Alyson Mallord, age 6, Grade 1, at St. Alfred Catholic School, Taylor, is the third-place winner with her picture of the Blessed Mother. |
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Alaina Capoccia, age 9, Grade 3, at St. Lawrence School, Utica, is a runner up with her picture of St. Patrick. |
DETROIT – It's recession intercession they're after, and dozens of students from across the Archdiocese of Detroit think they have a patron saint up to the challenge.
That the Detroit area is suffering through an ongoing economic downturn was not lost on the minds of the nearly 200 students who participated in the Finding Our Patron Saint contest.
The contest guidelines called on students to aid Archbishop Allen Vigneron in his search for a patron saint for the Archdiocese of Detroit by submitting nominations.
The youngest students sent in colorful, hand-drawn pictures of patron saints while their older counterparts wrote short essays.
Joe Kohn, public relations director for the Archdiocese of Detroit, who coordinated the contest, says he's inspired by the work of the students.
"Reading these essays, you really couldn't help but to be inspired," Kohn said. "The students who participated in the contest obviously put a great deal of thought into what they wrote, and you could see that they put a great deal of faith in the power of intercessory prayer.
"In the end, there were winners — but, really, a whole lot of these essays and these drawings serve as great reminders that these holy men and women care for, love and pray for our community here in the Detroit area in a very special way."
Kohn was similarly struck by how the students correlated their chosen saint with the makeup of the city of Detroit, its character, history and needs.
"Ask a handful of students," Kohn said, "and you'll come away confident that the Detroit area has many saints interceding for our many needs."
The winning entry in the seventh-12th grade group written by Dominic Carlini of St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, nominated St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesian Order and "Father and Teacher of Youth."
Detroit, he wrote, needs a "great ally in heaven" who has a special interest in faith formation among young people to combat all that ails the city.
"In his time, as now in Detroit, there was a religious and educational crisis," Dominic wrote. "He understood this and knew that there had to be an answer to the problems facing the Church."
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Annie Payette, age 8, Grade 3, at St. Joseph Parish School, Trenton, is a runner up with her picture of St. Joseph the Worker.
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Molly Cousino, age 5, kindergarten, at St. Patrick School, Carleton, is a runner up with her picture of St. Gabriel Richard. | St. Anne, a powerful prayer warrior and namesake of the region's first Catholic church, was suggested by Alexandra LisPlanells, a 15-year-old student at Everest Academy in Clarkston, as the patron saint who could bring Detroit hope.
"St. Anne gave an example of how powerful prayer can be," wrote Alexandra of the Mother of Mary.
Nicholas Tanner, a 10-year-old student at Sacred Heart in Dearborn and the winner in the 4th-6th grade division, chose St. Joseph, the protector of the Holy Family.
Calling the Archdiocese of Detroit a "big church family," Nicholas wrote that St. Joseph would help our family in the same way he helped the Holy Family.
"As Saint Joseph assumed the role of Jesus' father, I believe that he would love to be our patron saint," Nicholas wrote.
Some of the submissions were very broad, taking into account the wide array of needs that exist in the Detroit area. Others, such as 15-year-old Haley Distelrath's were very personal. She hopes that St. Joseph is named the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Detroit, at least in part, to honor her father.
"He's a carpenter and a very hard worker, driving back and forth from Marine City to Detroit for his job," she wrote. "I can't think of a better way to honor him and the city of Detroit."
Though not directly affiliated, this contest coincided with a greater call to the Catholic community of metro Detroit from Archbishop Vigneron back in September. His Excellency asked the faithful to help in the process of selecting a patron saint for the Archdiocese of Detroit – a saint who is identified in some clear way with our area.
More than 1,100 adults submitted suggestions that Archbishop Vigneron will consider before the process is completed by approval from the Holy See.
"We are at a point now where the suggestions are in," said Michael Trueman, chancellor for the Archdiocese of Detroit. "Archbishop Vigneron is now hearing from consultative groups."
Trueman made it clear that the process is one of discernment and not democracy.
"They are just suggestions … a measure of how well that saint is known among the people," he said. "I think the response has been fantastic. People have taken their time to decide why a particular saint would be perfect for Detroit. That was encouraging."
The top three suggestions were St. Anne, St. Joseph and St. Jude. The latter is the patron saint often invoked in desperate situations.
The essay winners in the 7th - 12th grade category are:
Dominic Carlini, 17
St. Mary's Prepatory, Orchard Lake (winner)
St. John Bosco is a saint who embodies everything there should be in the missionary spirit in the Archdiocese of Detroit. In his time, as now in Detroit, there was a religious and educational crisis. He understood this and knew that there had to be an answer to the problems facing the Church. In response to this he founded the Salesian Order. He devoted the rest of his life to helping the students and young adults in the community understand and live their faith.
That is why I believe St. John Bosco should be considered for the patron saint of our diocese. At the present time in Detroit, there is a crisis which steadily grows worse. The graduation rates are slipping further each year and the crime rates are rising. This is where the help of St. John Bosco comes into effect. With his special assistance, the Archdiocese of Detroit would obtain a great ally in heaven. He has a special interest in the formation of schools and the education of young men and women in the faith. The priests and nuns in the archdiocese would have a patron who could relate to their struggles as well as understand the struggles of the faithful in practicing their faith.
This is why I have chosen St. John Bosco as my choice to be patron of our diocese. Our teachers and religious could look to him as a helper in times of economic uncertainty and even in academic troubles. With St. John Bosco's patronage we would all have a figure to whom we could look up to and ask for assistance. As St. John Bosco formed strong Catholic schools and communities, so would he aid our officials in forming a deeply religious diocese in Detroit.
Alexandra LisPlanells, 15
Everest Academy, Clarkston (second place)
I believe that St. Anne should be the patron saint of Detroit, because in my opinion she is a wonderful mother who takes care of her children. St. Anne was married to St. Joachim, and they both lived in Nazareth. One day, Joachim went to present himself to offer sacrifice in the temple, he was then repulsed by a Ruben that a man without offspring was unworthy to be admitted. Joachim became very sad and full of grief that he did not return home and instead went into the mountains to make his plaint to God in solitude. When Anne found out why Joachim had not returned, she began to cry and asked the Lord to take away from her the curse of sterility, and promised to dedicate her child to the service of God. Anne and Joachim's prayers were heard, and an angel came to Anne and said: "Anne, the Lord had looked upon thy tears; thou shalt conceive and give birth and the fruit of thy womb shall be blessed by all the world." Joachim returned home, after the angel told him the same promise. Anne then gave birth to the Virgin Mary.
St. Anne gave an example of how powerful a prayer can be. Anne and Joachim both prayed to have a child, then an angel came down from heaven and gave them hope. Hope and prayer are two amazing gifts given to us by God and I think many of us are forgetting how important they are in our life. Without hope, we would have no excitement and reassurance of heaven and God's wondrous help for our salvation. Without prayer we could not assist all God's children. We would not be able to talk to Jesus and ask Him to help us. St. Anne shows the importance of prayer and the power of hope – nothing is impossible for God.
Mary is known as our Mother, the mother of God. Thus St. Anne is our grandmother. Grandmothers are known for taking good care of their grandchildren and helping them grow to become extraordinary people.
Emily Chudy, 15
Homeschooled, Mount Clemens (third place)
As our archdiocese considers who to select as its special patron and heavenly intercessor, I would like to propose St. Joseph. St. Joseph's life and example are worthy of imitation by all people, and he is an especially appropriate model for the people of the Archdiocese of Detroit. St. Joseph is honored by the Church under the titles of St. Joseph the Worker and Model of Artisans. As our area undergoes difficult economic times, St. Joseph can intercede for all workers, and in particular for those who are unemployed and searching for work. St. Joseph had to leave his home to protect his family when Herod desired to kill the infant Christ. Many fathers have had to make the difficult decision to leave the area in order to be able to do what is necessary to provide for their families. St. Joseph is also the patron of families. With so many attacks on the family going on in our world today, we need St. Joseph's intercession now more than ever so that our families will be able to become strong and holy. Additionally, St. Joseph had a great love for Jesus and Mary, and a deep interior life of prayer. This love for Jesus and Mary is so necessary, and St. Joseph, by his intercession, can help us all to grow to a deeper love of Jesus and Mary, and a more profound prayer life. St. Joseph, for these and many other reasons, would be a very appropriate choice as patron for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
The essay winners in the 4th - 6th grade category are:
Nicholas Tanner, 10
Sacred Heart School, Dearborn (winner)
Saint Joseph is the saint I would choose to be the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Detroit because he is the protector of the Holy Family. I think as our patron saint he would protect the Archdiocese of Detroit as a big church family. Saint Joseph loves workers as well as families. With the economy going down he will help our families like he did for the Holy Family. I believe that Saint Joseph is our special friend in heaven. He is our role model of how ordinary life can be holy. I feel that by praying to Saint Joseph, we will become stronger as families, there will be more jobs for people and we will be a greater Catholic community. As Saint Joseph assumed the role of Jesus' father, I believe that he would love to be our patron saint.
Colleen Nemes, 11
St. Genevieve Catholic School, Livonia (second place)
St. Raphael the Archangel should be the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Detroit. St. Raphael is one of the seven archangels that stand before the Lord. St. Raphael is the patron saint of young people. Young people are the future of our archdiocese. Their imaginative and creative minds help develop new ideas that will make this area recover from the difficult times we are going through.
Raphael means "God heals." The cities in the Archdiocese of Detroit have always had some type of difficult times to get through. As our patron saint, St. Raphael will help guide us through any difficulty. This is especially important today. St. Raphael is known for his protective influence that will help keep us safe and will intercede with God on our behalf.
Miranda Roman, 9
Our Lady of Sorrows, Farmington (third place)
I think Saint Andrew would be a good patron saint for the Archdiocese of Detroit because he is the patron saint of fishermen and there are a lot of lakes in Michigan. Saint Andrew was Saint Peter's older brother. They were the first disciples of Jesus. He is already the patron saint of Greece, Russia and Scotland. One of his symbols is an "x" because he died on an "x" shaped cross. His other symbol is a fishnet because he was a fisherman. Jesus called him and his brother "fishers of men." This is a good symbol for an archdiocese to have. His feast day is November 30, a nice time to have a feast day. That is why I think Saint Andrew should be the patron saint for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
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