WINSTON-SALEM — St. Leo the Great students gathered in the church courtyard for a Marian procession to honor the Blessed Mother Tuesday.
The celebration was organized in honor of the month of the Holy Rosary and was one of many activities planned during the school’s R.O.A.R (Relationships Outreach Achievement and Reflection) activity block – an allotted time when students step away from academics to focus on God.
“This is our first year doing a Marian procession,” Assistant Principal Lori Obendorf said. “Our theme for the school year is ‘To Jesus through Mary,’ so this was a great way to honor Mary and our theme during this month of October.”
Each grade brought handmade banners from a previous ROAR session celebrating a different title given to the Mary in the Litany of Loreto.
Together, the students prayed a decade of the rosary in front of the outstretched hands of the large Blessed Mary statue next to the church.
Altar servers carried the Blessed Mother in procession as everyone sang the Litany of Loreto and the Ave Maria. Younger students traveled beside their older prayer partners and scattered flower petals as they walked through the campus.
The procession lasted 30 minutes but was enough to leave Mary and the little Lions with smiles. Each student ended their day with a delicious treat - a white or blue “bead” from a rosary made from donated cupcakes.
— Lisa M. Geraci
