Francis in the Schools, an educational festival for underserved urban children, was hosted for the first time on the East Coast at the Peabody Institute for more than 600 children on Friday.
Children from 11 different schools around Baltimore attended the free, day-long outing. According to the program’s website, the event was designed as a non-denominational civics lesson about Saint Francis of Assisi and the beauty of the natural environment.
With the help of approximately 250 volunteers, including students, faculty and staff from the Homewood and Peabody campuses, a day of games, activities and music was organized for children from low-income urban neighborhoods.
“I had a really great time, mostly because all of the kids were so cute and fun and happy,” junior Mei Adams said.
Terry Johnson, the acting program director, said the University was very accommodating and helpful with the planning of the event.
“The whole administration has been so gracious and welcoming to us and letting the children feel like this space wants to welcome them,” Johnson said. “It was tricky at first because we’ve never done an indoor space, but the spaces are so beautiful and so nice and workable.”
The Peabody Institute was meticulously decorated and transformed into an activities center with stations for games, arts and crafts and theater performances.
“The campus is beautiful,” Johnson said. “It looks like a castle inside for them. It’s very exciting. I’ve seen children having their breath quite literally taken away at the beauty of the school and the decorations.”
The day included a concert and a musical about Saint Francis, followed by a Renaissance-style fair where children enjoyed food, music, games, dancing, face painting and flower arranging. The children also received gifts.
“I was at the face painting booth, and it was great because it allowed me to get really up close and personal with them and get to know a little bit of their personalities,” Adams said.
The event also included a featured musical performance by a world-famous singer, Friar Alessandro Brustenghi. Brustenghi has performed throughout Europe and has even sung for Pope Francis at the Vatican. This fall, he has performed at the Holy Land Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 10 and at the Basilica of the Assumption on Friday.
The friar traveled to America solely for the purpose of performing free concerts at Francis in the Schools events.
The Francis in the Schools program was founded in May 2010 in San Francisco, which was named after Saint Francis of Assisi. Its intended aim was to alleviate the concerns faced by children who are growing up in cities filled with poverty, crime and neglect.
“Children growing up in urban areas face the challenges of ethnic and social blending and a below-average standard of living,” Founder Carol Weyland Conner wrote on the program’s website. “This [program] is a celebration of the resilience, wonder and joy inherent in the children, of the kindness, compassion and ceaseless service Francis modeled for others and of the inspiration and encouragement our beloved children gain from learning about the life of his remarkable man.”
Since 2011, more than 4,000 children have participated in the program. It continues to grow every year, branching out to more locations across the U.S. It is likely that the program will return to Baltimore again next year.
Another Francis in the Schools event, also featuring Friar Alessandro, was held Monday in Washington D.C.
Correction: The headline for this article has been changed from the print headline. Francis In The Schools was not sponsored by the Vatican.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.