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St. Theresa students pray for the homeless
By Gina Keating, The Catholic Sun
February 7, 2008
St. Theresa School students have “adopted” the souls of the 108 homeless people who died on the streets of Phoenix last year. They pray for them daily.
Both the parish and school community combined their efforts with a local business for a special Jan. 16 Mass of Remembrance for the Homeless.
“Can you imagine if today after school you had no place to go home to or no food to eat?” Fr. Van A. Wagner, a retired Tucson priest assisting at the parish, said in the welcoming.
“Can you imagine having only old, worn-out shoes to wear, or no shoes at all?”
The questions were sobering for the students, parents, teachers and parishioners filling the pews who sat in quiet reflection.
Assistant Principal Catherine Downey announced just days earlier that the Wednesday school Mass would be in honor of the homeless.
The list of names originated with Amy Caffarello, director of St. Joseph the Worker. Her offices, located on the Maricopa County Human Services Campus downtown, assist the homeless with finding jobs.
The medical examiner gives her, and the other agencies who help the homeless, an updated list to see if they recognize anyone who has died.
“The parish is really showing support of our call through faith to care for the poor and vulnerable,” Caffarello said.
Bobbie Stich, parish pastoral care ministry director, along with more than 60 parishioners, prayed over the list of names until she had an epiphany — she would involve the school children.
“It was an idea that came about in God’s time,” Stich said. “The school was so open to it, and I just knew it would be a blessing.”
As families of students responded to the opportunity to adopt a soul, they were given a votive candle to decorate at home and return for the Mass. The King’s House, a Christian gift shop in Scottsdale donated the candles.
The prayer project took on even more meaning when one of the St. Theresa teachers recognized a name. A follow-up later verified the soul of a man her class adopted was a former student of hers.
It was a heartbreaking discovery. The teacher declined to comment out of respect for the man’s family members, who live in Phoenix.
“The prayers of children are very special,” Downey said. “This experience truly afforded the teachers an opportunity to talk to their students about our faith. After death, our life is reborn.”
As the names were read during the general intercessions, the students, many escorted by their family, placed their decorated candles on one of three tables draped in white cloth.
The bodies of the 108 souls lie in a Maricopa County pauper’s graveyard in the West Valley.
It’s a cross-cultural group whose last names are of German, Hopi, Irish, Italian, Latino, French, Polish, Navajo and English origin.
“God never forgets people who have died,” Fr. Wagner stressed in his homily. “Each of these candles represents the Light of the World, Jesus, who conquered death. If you believe in Him, you live again.”
The words of his homily fell on the hushed congregation like a comforting blanket. Downey said the student body was so moved by the experience, they have requested to have an annual Mass of Remembrance for the homeless.
According to the Arizona Department of Economic Security, there may be between 10,000-14,000 homeless individuals in Maricopa County on any given day.
In the United States, the average age of a homeless person is nine, and families are the largest and fastest growing population of homeless people.
Last year, St. Joseph the Worker helped 235 homeless individuals in Phoenix find full-time, permanent employment.
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