Trinity Heights plans Oct. 9 blessing of Way of the Saints

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
September 29, 2005

The latest addition at Trinity Heights in Sioux City - the Way of the Saints - will be dedicated and blessed at 2 p.m. on Oct. 9. Father LeRoy Seuntjens, pastor at St. Mary Church in Hawarden, will lead the service.

Larry Walsh, a member of the spiritual committee at Trinity Heights, said the service will feature the Litany of Saints.

He estimated that work on the Way of the Saints, located south of the outdoor cathedral, began about two years ago.

"We wanted to make it educational," explained Walsh.

With that in mind, the Way of the Saints contains six clusters to help inform people - adults and children alike - about the different types of saints.

Each cluster contains two saint groupings. For example, the first cluster contains evangelists and the doctors of the church.

The second cluster contains martyrs and missionary saints.

The third cluster lists devotional saints and young saints.

The fourth cluster has saints of healing and educators.

The fifth cluster highlights saints of charity and heroic lay people.

The sixth cluster contains defenders of the faith and outstanding popes.

Within each of the groupings, there is a list of five saints associated with the particular category. For instance, as examples of martyrs the list includes Stephen, North American Martyrs, Maximilian Kolbe, Edith Stein and Vietnamese Martyrs. The five listed as examples of saintly educators are Ignatius Loyola, John Neumann, Katharine Drexel, Mother Cabrini and Elizabeth Ann Seton.

The groupings also contain information as to the type of work they did.

"We are trying to show how each of us is called to a saintly life in whatever place of work we are involved in," noted Walsh. "Just like Isadore the Farmer was a historic lay person who was recognized for his saintly attitude. Each of us is called to be a saint in the work that we do here on earth."

The Way of the Saints also includes four statues. These include: Mother Teresa, Padro Pio, St. Peregrine who is the patron saint of cancer patients and St. Therese the Little Flower.

"Besides those four primary saints that are in statue form, we will have a statue of Moses in the Way of the Saints ultimately, because each of those persons who became a saint did so by following the law of Moses. You can't be a saint without following the Ten Commandments," said Walsh. "Mother Teresa - a saint of our times - said that saints are all the people who live according to the law that God has given us."

Following the blessing of the Way of the Saints, the group will process to the shrine Our Lady of Sorrows. This shrine had been moved to a location east of the St. Joseph Center when the new Luminous mysteries were added to the area near the Mound of Mary.

A reception at the Marian Center will follow the service. Those who attend are invited to stay for the 4 p.m. rosary. Everyone is welcome to attend the blessing.