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March 26, 2020When it was time for the newly renovated library to be decorated at All Saints Catholic School in Norman, a parent suggested the idea of painting saints on the ceiling and walls.
“It was a perfect idea. Nothing could be better than having the saints above our heads looking down and smiling on us,” said Sarah Morris, art teacher for All Saints. “One of my favorite pieces of art is Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and that was my inspiration.”
The plans for this project started in January 2019. With the help and support of All Saints Principal Dana Wade, faculty and alumni, supplies were purchased in May, and the project was underway. A few weeks before school let out in May, Principal Wade pulled tables out of her classroom so students could complete the tracing and drawing. Over the summer, students, teachers and alumni came out to help.
Nearly 350 students participated in the project in various ways, Morris said. Some helped with drawings, and some helped with the design. When it came to the Pre-K and Kindergarteners, they had a special idea for them.
“With the kindergarteners, we traced the outline of their bodies and so they are like life-sized saints, in a way, and with the pre-kindergarteners, we traced the outline of their bodies for the angels,” she said.
When it came to choosing which saints would be included in the project, Morris wanted to incorporate the saints who are part of the Junior High Houses. The junior high is divided up among the “House” system at the school, and each “House” has a patron saint. With a total of six patron saints – Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Albert, Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and Blessed Stanley Rother.
Along with well-known saints such as Saint Patrick, Saint Vincent de Paul and all of the apostles. Also on the walls is the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus.
“At the beginning of the school year, the students got to see the library all completed. They loved it. They brought in their parents and they would talk about how they helped,” Morris said.
The fourth-grade students helped design the symbols of each saint they studied. When people look up at the symbols, they can identify the saint without it being labeled on the canvas, she explained.
Morris is currently working on a guidebook of the murals, so people will know who the different saints are, and which of the students were involved with the creation of each individual saint painting. She hopes to have it done by the beginning of next year.
Jolene Schonchin is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
