By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

Photography: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO | FC

HOLLYWOOD | Over 4,500 miles separate Little Flower School in Hollywood from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. But at a recent academic showcase, Little Flower’s middle school students brought the pilgrimage experience to South Florida, helping visitors bypass the need to purchase airline tickets or make any other travel arrangements.

For a little over two weeks, fifth through eighth grade students learned about the famous Marian apparition. Then they engaged in different projects across the various curriculums, culminating in a showcase for family and friends May 18, 2022.

As visitors toured the school’s second floor, a stop at the religion classroom resembled a visit to the Massabielle Grotto. Natural lighting and the sound of running water helped establish an ambience, while an accompanying image of a livestream took visitors to Lourdes. At different stations in the classroom, students guided visitors as they blessed themselves with holy water brought from the actual springs of Lourdes, wrote prayer intentions, lit (battery-powered) candles, and even prayed a Hail Mary.

Outside and down the hall, students in art class had created a replica of the grotto. Empty milk jugs painted grey served as “stones,” while yards of brown paper had been shaped into the rock formation where a kneeling St. Bernadette prayed to the Virgin Mary. Flowers molded from clay, and painted blue, pink, purple, red, and yellow, adorned the site. Nearby stood a life-size painting of the grotto candelabra and its candles.

“This is all kid made,” said Omayra Roy, principal of Little Flower. “We just put it out there for people to see. But they took the lead and they went with it. I’m just so proud of them.”

In the science lab, dozens of student-made brochures examined the scientific explanations for Lourdes, ranging from the spring and water to the Pyrenees Mountain formations, the limestone, and more. While the lessons were similar, the graphic designs and layouts, made on publishing software Lucidpress, were unique.

“Everything they did is amazing,” said Kierra Soler, mother of sixth grader Lydia Soler, who admitted being stunned by her daughter’s work as well as her classmates’.

“I’ve learned many things about minerals in the spring water, and many things I’ve never known about,” said seventh grader Ana Loeva Jeudy. “But my favorite thing is being connected religiously.”

In the history classroom, students showcased their custom-made prayer cards.

“We Catholics have a lot of little prayer cards. So we decided to make big ones,” said Margaret Vazquez, Little Flower’s middle school history teacher.

To inspire her students, she referenced the school’s namesake, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, or Little Flower, who said, “Prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” Keeping that simplicity in mind, Vazquez told students that their prayers did not need to be fancy, just honest. And creative designs for the card were a must.

“I had the idea to write the prayer card title in French because of the location,” said sixth grader Maya Pinera. Her card was adorned with a leafed edge with small roses and a drawing of a kneeling St. Bernadette at the grotto with Our Lady. As part of her prayer, Maya wrote: “Help me grow closer to your Son through prayer, and help me show everyone love and kindness as you have to the world.”

Six-time Lourdes pilgrim Father Javier Barreto, administrator of Little Flower Church, said he enjoyed seeing the work of the students. During his visit, he leafed through the different budget-travel packages to Lourdes, made by students in math class, and later watched videos of students walking in prayer during P.E. class, as if they were taking part in the daily processions at the French sanctuary.

“It’s more than doing a project,” Father Barreto said. “They’re really living the experience.”