All Hallow's Eve 2009

On Saturday, October 31, 2009, St. Ignatius Loyola Parish conducted its third All Hallow’s Eve celebration, which was hosted by the St. Anne Mother’s Prayer group, for children of the Parish up to the sixth grade. The purpose of the event was to bring the Saints to life, educating the children about their lives and love of Christ Jesus, while highlighting how they are the real heroes of our rich Catholic faith. The children came adorned in Saintly costumes, as did the volunteers.

During the course of the event, the children participated in several ‘Saintly’ stations. Prior to entering the ‘Spooky Graveyard’, Saint Gertrude taught them about the importance of praying for the dead. Once inside, two ‘lost’ souls begged the children for their prayers as they taught them about Purgatory. Before the children left the graveyard they were given a Saint Gertrude prayer card and were taught about the importance of praying for ‘all’ the souls in Purgatory. They also received prayer cards with the names of deceased loved ones that our parishioners graciously donated to the event and they were encouraged to pray for their souls as well. How nicely this tied in with our Holy Father’s call for, “…all Christians to pray for those who have died, so that, completely purified, they may enjoy forever the light and peace of the Lord."

The children also learned about begging for ‘soul cakes’ and were taught various prayers before receiving their ‘treat.’ In addition, there were several games that the children enjoyed playing as they learned an important lesson. The donut eating game, ‘Eating for Eternity’, taught the children about eternal life. ‘Toss the Halo’, introduced the children to many of our popular Saints, and other Heavenly games all provided opportunities for the children to learn about our faith while having fun. Afterwards, one of our choir members, Emily Marinaro, led all in attendance in a beautiful singing rendition of the Litany of Saints. The event ended with a wonderful Parade of Saints as the children sang “When the Saints Come Marching In.”

Pope Benedict XVI has challenged each of us with his words, "to become a saint is the task of every Christian, and what's more, we could even say it's the task of everyone!" It is our hope that an event like this for our children will inspire them to become our future Saints. Our Parish School, Saint Ignatius Loyola, has been sending saints into the world for over 100 years, as has our Parish for the past 150 years!!! Our School was the perfect setting to host such a fun filled, inspiring day for our children and our Parish.

Below is the slideshow of the All Hallow's Eve pictures. If the slideshow does not appear, click here...