Entry #13, depicting St. Peregrine, received third place in the contest. COURTESY OF MARIANNA L. ROMERO
Saint-O-Lantern Contest: A colorful celebration of faith
BY MARIANNA L. ROMERO, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
The Fall Festival at Mary Carrico Catholic School in Knottsville, Ky., is an annual event to gather the community for food, fellowship, and fun while raising money for the school’s PTO. An addition to the Fall Festival this year was the Saint-O-Lantern Contest which combined creativity, community spirit, and faith.
Students and their families decorated pumpkins inspired by various saints, transforming ordinary gourds into extraordinary works of art. This event served as an engaging way to learn about the lives of saints and their significance in the Catholic tradition. Families expressed their creativity while reflecting on the virtues and stories of the saints they choose to represent. Families shared a variety of reasons for selecting the saint for their family’s entry, from being a patron of a favorite family pasttime like hunting or fishing, to being a saint whose intercession was requested when a loved one was suffering from cancer or other medical concern.
Entry #16, depicting St. Michael the Archangel, received second place. COURTESY OF MARIANNA L. ROMERO
Fall Festival attendees could vote for their favorite Saint-O-Lantern entry using coins or dollars. The top three entries raising the most money won gift card prizes. In 90 minutes $578.72 was raised by the 17 entries for the MCCS PTO. This money will go directly toward student activities throughout the year. St. Nicholas, entry #2, by the Kaysinger family, raised the most money during the contest. In second place was St. Michael the Archangel, entry #16, by the Ramsey family. The third place entry was St. Peregrine, entry #13, by the Payne family. As we entered the month of November celebrating All Saints, the Saint-O-Lantern contest was a small way to celebrate the creativity and faith of our community, by shining a light on the values of these holy men and women in heaven we aspire to imitate.
Marianna L. Romero is the music and media teacher for Mary Carrico Catholic School in Knottsville.
Entry #2, depicting St. Nicholas, received first place in Mary Carrico Catholic School’s 2024 Saint-O-Lantern Contest. COURTESY OF MARIANNA L. ROMERO
Originally printed in the December 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
