St. Joseph School in St. Joseph welcomed Bishop Sebastian Thekethecheril of the Diocese of Vijayapuram in Kerala, India, Sept. 27.
The students in grades five and six sponsor two families through the We Share Program, a non-profit established to aid the Vijayapuram diocese.
Bishop Thekethecheril spoke during a school Mass and then visited with the fifth- and sixth-graders, answering questions about the recent floods, the people, food and wildlife in his area.
“The students and teachers are very enthusiastic to support the needy and poor in my diocese,” Bishop Thekethecheril said.
Teachers Tess Koltes and Susan Huls incorporate the family sponsorship into their lessons, with fifth-graders focusing on the corporal works of mercy and sixth-graders studying Catholic social teaching’s preferential option for the poor. They pray for their families daily.
“Students benefit by being called to help others less fortunate than most of us,” Koltes said.
