24 Portraits of the School of Sanctity | National Catholic Register

These men and women have made their mark on the world and graduated summa cum laude.

As I prepared for the new school year this year, I dug around in my hope chest for a stack of high school yearbooks. I hadn’t flipped through them in years, but I was looking for content for an opening activity I could use in my classroom with my new students. The high school “Hall of Fame” revealed dated photos and lists of “most likely” characteristics. With a few snaps, my students learned that their teacher had been voted “Most Likely to Succeed,” “Top Student,” and one half of the “Best Friends Duo.”

After a little look into their teacher history, my students looked to their own future. I asked them to draw a picture of themselves and think about what they would most like to be voted “most likely” to do and what words of wisdom they would write down. I learned a little more about my students and they were able to think about their goals for this school year and beyond.

But that wasn’t the extent of our first-day-of-school activity. The lesson really revolved around the stories of 24 Catholic saints. The pictures and names of these holy men and women were displayed on a yearbook-style poster and were perfect for starting conversations. I wanted to showcase their gifts, talents, interests, and callings, but I shared that information with creative nicknames, as if they had been chosen for their own “Saintly Hall of Fame.”

I imagined Pope John Paul II being voted “Most Likely to Travel the World” and “Class Clown.” Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin were “Cutest Couple.” St. Gianna Molla was “Best Dressed.” Blessed Chiara Luce Badano and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati were “Miss Congeniality” and “Mr. Congeniality.” St. Katharine Drexel was “Most Likely to Become a Millionaire” and St. Teresa of Calcutta was “Most Likely to Win a Nobel Peace Prize.” Each description is a creative nod to the saint’s life and the impact he or she had on the world.

There is no better way to learn from the saints than through their own words, so among the fictional “Hall of Fame” awards, each saint’s yearbook quote is taken from actual scripture. St. Therese Benedict of the Cross advises, “When you seek the truth, you seek God, whether you know it or not.” Blessed Carlo Acutis is remembered with the words, “Our goal must be the infinite, not the finite. The infinite is our homeland. Heaven has been waiting for us for all eternity.” St. Therese of Lisieux says, “Our Lord looks not so much at the greatness of our actions, nor at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.”

Finally, each saint’s yearbook included a “Class of” designation. Instead of a graduation year, the date listed is the year of their death. Their triumphant entry into heaven is commemorated after their good work on earth. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was Class of 1917 and St. José Sánchez del Río was Class of 1925. The Reverend Augustus Tolton and St. Thérèse were both Class of 1897. St. Faustina was Class of 1938 and Servant of God Emil Kapaun was Class of 1951. Although there are only a handful of saints on the poster, it is a beautiful reminder of the centuries of Christians who have come before us.

And that was my overall goal for this project. Shared with my students at the beginning of the new school year, it now hangs on my classroom door for all to see. I hope this “Hall of Fame of Holiness” is an inspiration to our school community. These men and women followed Christ and served the people of the Church during their lives. They are the best of the best, each in unique, unrepeatable, and irreplaceable ways. Jesus invites each of us to this greatness and has given us the models of the saints to guide us. As Pope St. Clement I said, “Follow the saints, for those who follow them will become saints.”

Holy men and women, pray for us!

This poster of the “Yearbook of Saints” and all accompanying teaching materials are free to download and print.