Students at St. Francis Xavier School in Sartell welcomed Bishop Patrick Neary to share a special meal with them March 21. For the 13th year, the staff prepared a Seder meal for the students to learn about the history and significance of the Passover meal.
“It was a great retreat day before leaving for Easter break, just to really remind us of the Lenten journey that we’ve been on for many weeks now as a school,” said Heidi Schloe, the school’s principal.
“The students take away a sense of community and a sense of purpose in our mission of being like Jesus and acting like Jesus and doing what Jesus does,” she said. “And also, there’s just that thankfulness for everything that we’ve been given.”
Fourth-grader Madden Sandstrom has participated in the event since first grade and was struck by the history.
He said he wants other kids to know about the Passover meal and what was happening at the time, “especially the part where Moses led all the Israelites out of Egypt,” he said.
Bishop Neary sat with the fifth-graders.
“It takes you so beautifully through what a Seder meal is and what all the different things signify, like the bitter herbs, and the wine and the unleavened bread,” Bishop Neary said.
“I think it’s wonderful to tell the story of the Jewish people, especially what happened in Egypt, the role of Moses, God’s acting in history to be with suffering people and to liberate them.”
