Who Am I?

To help the children identify Saint Peter Claver and Saint Josephine Bakhita

The children will better understand saints such as Peter Claver and Josephine Bakhita as role models.

• Board or large piece of easel paper to write on
• Using the following text to give to create questions:

Saint Peter Claver, the "Saint of Slaves": Througout history people have been treated unfairly, sometimes simply because they come from a different place or race or because they are poor or weak. One terrible social crime is slavery People have long been bought and sold as goods. The Catholic Church teaches that slavery is offensive to God. Saint Peter Claver was someone who devoted his life to helping slaves. He was born in Spain in 1581. He spent most of his life in South America, where he served as a missionary to slaves. Peter Claver gave the slaves physical and spiritual care from the moment they arrived from Africa. He met them at the harbor with food and medicine. He tried to persuade their masters to treat them humanely. He also comforted the slaves and taught them about Jesus, encouraging them to live as Christians. By 1615 Peter Claver is said to have baptized more thatn 300,000 slaves. He died in 1654. His feast day is Spetember 9.

Saint Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan, in northeastern Africa, in about 1870. At the age of seven, she was stolen by slave traders and sold into slavery. She baecame the property of an Italian diplomat. In Italy she was sent to a convent school and in 1890 was baptized. Eventually, she became a nun. At the convent she did ordinary tasks with a constant smile. She died in 1947 and was declared a saint on Octover 1, 2000. Her feast day is February 8.

• Write the names Saint Peter Claver and Saint Josephine Bakhita on the board.
• Divide the children into two groups.
• Give each group a few seconds to decide on a symbol for their group, which is quick and easy to make, such as a cross, a circle, or a triangle.
• Explain that each group will be responsible for sending a group member to the board when it is their group's turn to answer a question about the two saints. The group member should place his or her group's symbol under the saint referred to in the question.
• Using the text from the saint handout, pull out questions such as: Who devoted his or her life to helping slaves? Who was sold into slavery?
• Give each group a few seconds to decide among themselves what the correct answer is and to send one of their group members to the board.
• The other group will be given the opportunity to decide if the symbol is under the correct saint. If they do not agree with the placement, they are to place their symbol in what they think is the correct position.
• Encourage the children to talk about the saints, who they were and what they stood for. As a conversation starter, ask if this would be someone they would invite to dinner.

People Smart, Word Smart

Make sure there are enough questions so each child has a chance to go to the board. Repeat questions that the children might have been unsure about.

Encourage the groups to work collaboratively.