Saints for Back to School

It’s August, and while summer is not officially over, I know my own mind is going to “back to school.” Vacations are ending, school supplies are being bought, Old Navy has a million ads with children in popped collars. So, let’s embrace it, and for those going back to school, or sending their children back to school, get to know some saints who can go with you.

Saint Scholastica: the name says it all. The sister (possibly twin) of the great St. Benedict and the foundress of Benedictine nuns, she is considered a patron saint of education, reading, and tests.

Saint John Henry Newman: Ever been to a Newman Center on a college campus? It’s named after Saint John Henry Newman, who famously converted from the Church of England to Catholicism, losing a lot of worldly power and honor along the way ( which was then restored as a cardinal in the Catholic Church). He was himself an academic and wrote The Idea of a University.

St. Thomas Aquinas: He is the OG Catholic scholar and a big ol’ doctor of the Church. ‘Nuff said.

St. Carlo Acutis: He is not traditionally associated with education, but he died while a teenaged student. We see many pictures of him with his friends and in recreational activities, living the life of a normal kid. I always think of that common image of him on a hilltop wearing a backpack. I just learned you can buy a Carlo Acutis backpack.

St. John Paul II: I have to throw him in here as a personal favorite, and because of his extraordinary work with young people and students. He was himself a lifelong writer and scholar, as well as a professor in the 1950s and 1960s. See if you can find pictures of him with his young people, celebrating Mass on an overturned canoe-turned-altar while on an outdoor adventure.

These are just a few of those you can call on to help you prepare and enjoy back to school time. God bless all the students and families of students!