February 1, 2011

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES DEANERY — McNicholas High School freshman Kristen Rehl has always thought of her grandmother, Patricia Murphy, as a living saint.  So when English teacher Meloney Feldkamp and student teacher Ashley Markesbery told her class about a writing contest where students had to describe a living saint in their lives, Rehl knew exactly who she would use as her subject.

“My grandma comes down from Cleveland to help care for my family when my parents have to go out of town, she cares for my grandpa, is an usher and choir member at her church and spends many days taking the elderly women in her neighborhood and church to the grocery store and other places,” Rehl said.  

The writing contest, sponsored by Catholics United for the Poor (CUP), required students in the Greater Cincinnati area in fifth through ninth grades to answer two questions in an essay: Is there someone in your life who inspires you to be a better person and what does it mean to be a living saint? According to CUP, more than 1,500 students entered the contest. Winners were notified Nov. 1 and received a cash prize.

Jack Green, an eighth grader at Cardinal Pacelli School in Mt. Lookout was also a winner. For his essay, Green wrote about Father Robert Obermeyer, pastor of Our Lord Christ the King Parish, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

Green noted that he didn’t choose Father Obermeyer to write about as a living saint because he is a priest, but because he transforms lives through his faith and generosity and teaches valuable lessons in his homilies.

“A saint is a person who has heard God’s call and acted on it,” Green wrote. “A saint puts others before himself/herself and gives up everything for God. Father Obermeyer fits these statements, in my opinion, so he is my living saint.”