Year Group Saints
At St Edmund’s we want to help our children to respond to Pope Francis’ call to holiness. As such, the Saints play an important role in motivating our pupils. They inspire us to lead joyful lives; they serve as role models; they teach us that holiness means being who you are; and they pray for us from heaven, giving us the strength to be who God created us to be.
Each year group saint has been carefully chosen to tie in with our school mission statement and builds to preparing the children for their next steps after they leave our school. As they progress through the school, pupils learn more about their Class Saint and increasingly make links between Gospel stories, the lives of the Saints and how they should live their own lives.
Reception
Saint Joseph
Patron Saint of Families
19th March
Saint Joseph was the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the father of Jesus. Joseph was a man of action and when God spoke to him, he always listened. Through his love and care for Jesus and Mary, Joseph showed his love for God.
Year 1
Saint Vincent De Paul
Patron Saint of The Poor
27th September
Saint Vincent De Paul was born in France, the son of a peasant farmer. When he was studying to become a priest he was captured at sea and kept as a slave for two years. Eventually he escaped and devoted his life to to charitable works and helping the poor.
Year 2
Saint Martin De Porres
Patron Saint of Racial Harmony
3rd November
Saint Martin de Porres was freed slave from Panama, of African or possibly Native American descent. St Martin de Porres was the first mixed race saint. A Dominican, he was praised for his unconditional care of all people, regardless of race or wealth.
Year 3
Saint Oscar Romero
Patron Saint of Social Justice
24th March
Saint Oscar Romero was ordained a priest in 1942 in Rome and not long after returned to his home in El Salvador. He became famous for his sermons and did a lot of parish work like visiting prisons, organising catechism classes, working with others in the church to provide help and food for the poor.
Year 4
Saint Josephine Bakhita
Patron Saint of Hope During Suffering
8th February
Saint Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped at the age of seven but later escaped with a friend. They ran through the countryside before realising they were lost. Josephine looked into the night sky for guidance and was surprised to see a figure showing her the way. Unfortunately, she was recaptured and spent twelve more years as slave before earning her freedom. She believed the figure was her guardian angel and wanted to spend the rest of her life helping those most in need.
Year 5
Saint John Bosco
Patron Saint of publishers and youth
31st January
Saint John Bosco was born in Turin, Italy in 1815 and spent much of his 73 year life in that city as a parish priest. His principal apostolate was among poor working boys to unite them with the spiritual life. St. John Bosco is the patron saint of Catholic publishers and youth. Pope Pius XI, who knew him as a young priest, canonized him in 1934.
Year 6
Saint Edmund
Patron Saint of The Sick
20th November
St Edmund of Canterbury was born in 841AD, crowned King of East Anglia in 855, and fought alongside King Alfred against the Vikings. Captured by the Danes in 869, he was offered the chance to remain a puppet king if he renounced his Christian faith. Edmund refused. So the Danes tied him to a tree and fired lots of arrows at him until he died. Edmund was known around the world for his stance not to renounce his faith and became patron of the sick after a village in France prayed to him to help them during the plague. Not long after their prayers the plague came to an end.