Visitors to Assumption Parish in Morristown on Nov. 2, All Souls Day, got the opportunity to learn more about several prominent Catholic saints during its Back from the Grave seasonal event.
A cast of volunteers, including Assumption parishioners and youth and seminarians of the Paterson Diocese, dressed up and acted as saints on the parish ministry center grounds.
The many saints portrayed included St. Joan of Arc, St. Patrick, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Frances Cabrini, St. Faustina, St. Mother Ann Seton, and St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
Visitors, including families, walked on a tour, visiting each station and listening to each “saint.” Deacon Joseph DeMarzo produced Back From the Grave. He is a diocesan seminarian and transitional deacon who is assigned to Assumption.
“Back from the Grave was a great opportunity to help Catholics do something fun while concentrating on ‘the meaning of the season’: All Saints Day and All Souls Day,” Deacon DeMarzo said.
The event, originally called Back from the Dead, was started by a deacon at Mother Ann Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
“The saints were ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives by living for Christ and seeking to do his will in their lives. They are saints because they lived with and for Jesus,” Deacon DeMarzo said. “As Mother Angelica used to say, ‘We are all called to be great saints; don’t miss the opportunity.’”
— Michael Wojcik
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
