By Angelique Ruhi-Lopez - Florida Catholic
MIAMI | Pope Francis was not the only pope recently elected.
The Theatine Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Day Care held a mock conclave March 8 in which ‘Pope Santiago’ was elected by the college of cardinals - or in this case, the ‘preschool of cardinals.’
The four Theatine Sisters who run the small day care wanted a way to explain the complicated concepts of the conclave and papal election to their students and decided to do a mock conclave with the students in their Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 classes.
The conclave followed a week of prayer for Pope Benedict XVI and his successor, which began March 4 and culminated in the mock papal election.
“The idea was to show the children the significance of prayer and to answer Pope Benedict’s call to pray for him and for the new Holy Father,” explained Sister Nilsa Castillo, school director and mother superior of the Theatines in Miami.
“As church that we are, from a very young age they need to learn the values and mysteries of our faith,” she said.
In preparation for their mock conclave, Sister Paula Cervantes, the day care’s religion teacher, taught the students about the role of the cardinals in the church and oriented them on the conclave in an age-appropriate way. All the boys in the school then donned red capes and sat at a table to cast ballots to elect their pope.
“In the process, the students learned to share, to work as a team, and to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance,” said Sister Castillo. “They also learned that not everyone ‘wins.’ We live in a world where, sadly, many people are not happy for the good that others may attain. Some don’t enjoy seeing others’ successes. We wanted to teach the children to rejoice when others rejoice.”
When the cardinals elected their pope, Pope Santiago – four-year-old Santiago Rodriguez – the students and teachers all waved white tissues as if they were white smoke and rejoiced while they received his papal blessing.
“The joy of that moment was palpable and they learned the importance of prayer, of working together in the church and to bless and celebrate one another,” said Sister Castillo.
The Catholic day care located near SW 6th Street and SW 122nd Avenue has been instilling these values and teaching these lessons for the past 30 years, with families attending mostly via word of mouth.
Another way they teach important religious lessons is through their annual Christmas pageant. The nuns help the children rehearse beginning in October of each year and the children wear costumes and memorize and recite brief lines delineating the Nativity of Jesus, which are then performed for parents and relatives on stage in December.
“Now, we’re teaching the children of ‘our children’ and it gives us great satisfaction,” said Sister Nilsa. “People who attended the school as children call us when they have their own young children because they want their kids to receive the same education they did. It gives great continuity to the school and to the education they received.”
Contact the Theatine Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Miami at 305-223-2512 or at [email protected]
The Theatine Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Day Care held a mock conclave March 8 in which ‘Pope Santiago’ was elected by the college of cardinals - or in this case, the ‘preschool of cardinals.’
The four Theatine Sisters who run the small day care wanted a way to explain the complicated concepts of the conclave and papal election to their students and decided to do a mock conclave with the students in their Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 classes.
The conclave followed a week of prayer for Pope Benedict XVI and his successor, which began March 4 and culminated in the mock papal election.
“The idea was to show the children the significance of prayer and to answer Pope Benedict’s call to pray for him and for the new Holy Father,” explained Sister Nilsa Castillo, school director and mother superior of the Theatines in Miami.
“As church that we are, from a very young age they need to learn the values and mysteries of our faith,” she said.
In preparation for their mock conclave, Sister Paula Cervantes, the day care’s religion teacher, taught the students about the role of the cardinals in the church and oriented them on the conclave in an age-appropriate way. All the boys in the school then donned red capes and sat at a table to cast ballots to elect their pope.
“In the process, the students learned to share, to work as a team, and to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance,” said Sister Castillo. “They also learned that not everyone ‘wins.’ We live in a world where, sadly, many people are not happy for the good that others may attain. Some don’t enjoy seeing others’ successes. We wanted to teach the children to rejoice when others rejoice.”
When the cardinals elected their pope, Pope Santiago – four-year-old Santiago Rodriguez – the students and teachers all waved white tissues as if they were white smoke and rejoiced while they received his papal blessing.
“The joy of that moment was palpable and they learned the importance of prayer, of working together in the church and to bless and celebrate one another,” said Sister Castillo.
The Catholic day care located near SW 6th Street and SW 122nd Avenue has been instilling these values and teaching these lessons for the past 30 years, with families attending mostly via word of mouth.
Another way they teach important religious lessons is through their annual Christmas pageant. The nuns help the children rehearse beginning in October of each year and the children wear costumes and memorize and recite brief lines delineating the Nativity of Jesus, which are then performed for parents and relatives on stage in December.
“Now, we’re teaching the children of ‘our children’ and it gives us great satisfaction,” said Sister Nilsa. “People who attended the school as children call us when they have their own young children because they want their kids to receive the same education they did. It gives great continuity to the school and to the education they received.”
Contact the Theatine Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Miami at 305-223-2512 or at [email protected]
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