DLSS Catechism: Proposed Outline for Saints Presentation

I. What is a Saint? (propose to have common slide)

• saints are people who practice virtues to a heroic extent
• different kind of superheroes
• Jesus is their model and as such their power is about melting hearts with love

II. Purpose of Presentation (propose to have common slide although delivery/words used may
differ for Upper Primary, more thought-provoking)
• DLSS is a catholic school and classes are named after saints
• Good to know the characteristics of the class saint
• We strive to follow these traits

III. Background of Saint

Note to catechists: We acknowledge that children of different ages are at different
developmental stages. Based on this understanding, we propose the following:

For lower primary (“LP”), the objective is to introduce the saint and one or two message(s) which
is of essence to this saint that is appropriate to their level of understanding. Message(s) should
be simplified to relating how the saint listened to God’s voice and chose to spread love (P1) /
share Christ’s light to others (P2/P3).

For upper primary (“UP”), we are still introducing the saint but at a deeper level and with more
application. At this stage, the child is exploring their identity in relation to the world. As such,
when provided with information they will always ask how this is relevant to them. So, we can
end upper primary presentations with the message that we are all saints in the making and that
we are all called to be saints.

Topic Lower Upper

Primary Primary
Country, Family, etc.… their story Yes Yes
- Manner of delivery may differ
- Content wise – for UP can work backward in determining which
part of story is relevant to the virtue/application
Fun Fact Yes Yes
- Decide which is applicable to LP and UP (e.g., St Anthony – info
on his preaching to the fishes would fascinate the LP; St. Francis
– info on 1st to receive stigmata would be good to add to UP)
Virtues (refer to the Virtues Project explanations but pick essence Yes Yes
for each group)
- Different for LP and UP if applicable (e.g., St Dominic for LP its
prayerfulness and for UP its fortitude/forbearance)
Patron Saint of… (encourage prayer to saint for intercession for UP) No Yes
Feast Day (encourage observance for UP) No Yes
Quotes (one or 2 most relevant ones only and can be placed within No Yes
the narrative/story)
Religious Art/picture (encourage children to appreciate beauty No Yes (if
which awakes the inner soul to God) applicable
e.g., Angel
Gabriel at
Annunciation)
IV. Application – arises from virtues. For example, when thinking about St. Dominic and
forbearance, how can we practice this in our lives? Give examples… or space to ponder.

V. Prayer/Hymn relating to the message of the saint

Prayer example:
St Elizabeth had no child for a long time and this was harder as she lived at a time when
people thought the role of women was to bear children. But through it all, St Elizabeth
never lost hope. With this in mind, let us pray:

Dear St Elizabeth, please pray for us that we may not lose hope when faced with
difficulty. May we keep stand up again after we fall. May we practice hope so that we
can keep trying again and again until we succeed.

Prayer example:
We should consider ourselves blessed when we are visited by God through his
inspirations just like St Elizabeth was when Mother Mary visited her. Let us pray to St
Elizabeth:

Dear St Elizabeth, we have the honour of being visited by God every day in prayer. Please
help pray for us that we may treasure these visits by God. May these visits strengthen us
in our everyday lives as we strive to become a better version of ourselves each day .

Hymn example: St Francis – Make Me A Channel of Your Peace

Suggested Virtues for each level

Saint Lower Primary Upper Primary
Anthony of Padua Service Service
Bernadette of Lourdes Humility? Sincerity? Trust
Christopher Courage Fortitude
Dominic Savio Prayerfulness Forbearance
Elizabeth Hope Faith
(mother of St. John the Baptist)
Francis of Assisi Beauty Peacefulness
…something about
appreciating creation
Archangel Gabriel Obedience Obedience (can focus on
inner wisdom and truth, pls
refer to virtue card)
Helen (mother of Constantine) Caring Generosity

Please feel free to explore other applicable virtues (https://virtuesproject.com) After choosing the virtues for
each saint (bouncing off ideas within the group), please do not take the explanation wholesale. Instead,
internalise and pick the essential and deliver in simple language to the children, where they are at.

NB: As saints’ presentation is to the entire class, we chose virtues and explanations from the Virtues
Project, which is a secular programme. However, for catechesis, please also refer to Golepress
(https://golepress.com/what-are-the-virtues/)_for the virtues (disciples of Christ by the Dominican sisters
of Mary).