Students learn about patron through ‘virtual’ pilgrimage |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
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Sunday, 04 October 2009 00:00 |
OREGON—Popular social media Web sites were recently turned into tools for teaching students in the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Deanery about the patron of their newly formed Catholic school system.
From left, Father David Reinhart, Mike Wilson, Pat McAlear and Kurt Ross entertain students and teachers at a school assembly with a song they composed about their pilgrimage. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke)
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Father David Reinhart, president of the Kateri Catholic School System, and three others set out Sept. 21 on the “Kateri Pilgrimage,” a five-day motorcycle journey to the places where Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha lived from 1656-1680.
Fr. Reinhart, who is also pastor of Bono Our Lady of Mount Carmel, explained the intent of the pilgrimage was to provide insight into the life of Blessed Kateri in an interactive way that would engage the school and wider community.
“The name Kateri is new not only to our students, teachers and parents but also to this community,” he said.
Formed earlier this year, the Kateri Catholic School System includes Oregon Cardinal Stritch High School and Kateri Catholic Academy, which has campuses in Oregon, Toledo and Walbridge for students in pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade.
Fr. Reinhart traveled with school supporters Pat McAlear, Mike Wilson and Kurt Ross, and the pilgrims documented their journey by posting daily video reflections, photographs and updates to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Their travels through southern Canada and upstate New York took them to St. Francis Xavier Church and the Shrine of the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Kahnawake, Canada, where she is buried, the National Kateri Shrine in Fonda, N.Y., and the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, N.Y., which is near her birthplace.
Students at Cardinal Stritch followed the pilgrimage online in their theology classes and teachers said it sparked discussions about Blessed Kateri as well as the process of canonization.
Clare Smith, a high school theology teacher, said it was eye opening for her students to realize Blessed Kateri was from the United States. She explained they usually think of saints as people who lived a long time ago in other parts of the world.
“This answered a lot of questions about who this woman was and why we need to follow her,” added Ms. Smith.
Kateri Catholic Academy students also followed the trip in their religion classes.
“I had a few students tell me they actually went home and showed their parents,” said Kelly Malinowski, middle school principal. “So the parents were involved too, through their children.”
Fr. Reinhart said he and his travel companions used his “helmet cam” and an iPhone to create their videos, which they then uploaded to the Web from his laptop computer.
Updates to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were also linked to the school Web site, www.katerischools.org, so students and parents could follow their journey without needing to register on the other Web sites.
When the four pilgrims returned home Sept. 25, they were greeted by cheers and high-fives from middle and high school students as they roared into the gymnasium of Cardinal Stritch High School on their motorcycles.
“I just looked at my odometer at it said 1,535 miles,” Fr. Reinhart announced.
Though the pilgrims encountered some rain on the first day of their ride, he told the assembly they had a great time on the trip as they learned about Blessed Kateri.
“I think I speak for all the guys in saying that I think we feel like we’ve sort of been with her for a week,” Fr. Reinhart said. “We’ve had a chance to be with people that have a great love for her, and now are praying for you in other parts of the country as they now know that there’s a school and a school system named after her.”
Fr. Reinhart told the students they should all be proud “to be connected to such a beautiful lady.”
Mr. McAlear, a school supporter who sent two sons to Cardinal Stritch, said he was most impressed by Blessed Kateri’s “big heart” as he learned about her.
“She was a small child, got interested in Jesus, and despite that, her family rejected her, her tribe rejected her when she got baptized,” he told the students. “Just think how that would have been for you or I if we went home and our family said, ‘Get out,’ or our school said, ‘Get out, we don’t want to see you any more.’ ”
Despite that, he said Kateri went on to learn about Jesus until her death at age 24.
“So if you have a bad day, think about Blessed Kateri,” Mr. McAlear told the students. “If you have a tough day at school, a tough day at home, you have nothing compared to what she had to grow up with.”
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Last Updated on Monday, 08 February 2010 20:33 |
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