During my back-to-school prep this year, I found myself digging through my hope chest for a stack of high-school yearbooks. I hadn’t flipped through their pages in many years, but I was on a quest to find content for an opening activity to use in my classroom with my new students. The high-school “Hall of Fame” revealed dated photos and lists of “most likely to” attributes. With a few snapshots, my students learned that their teacher had been voted “Most Likely to Succeed,” “Top Student,” and one-half of the “Best Friends Duo.”

After a little glimpse into their teacher’s history, my students then looked to their own futures. I asked them to draw a picture of themselves and consider what they would like to be voted “most likely to” be and the words of wisdom they would record. I learned a little more about my students, and they were able to consider their goals for this school year and beyond.

However, that wasn’t the extent of our first-day-of-school activity. The lesson actually centered around the stories of 24 Catholic saints. Featured on a yearbook-style poster, photographs and names of these holy men and women were perfect for sparking conversations. I wanted to showcase their gifts, talents, interests and callings, but shared that information using creative monikers as if they had been voted into their own “Saintly Hall of Fame.”

I imagined that Pope John Paul II was voted “Most Likely to Travel the World” and “Class Clown.” Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin were “Cutest Couple.” St. Gianna Molla was “Best Dressed.” Blessed Chiara Luce Badano and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati were “Miss Congeniality” and “Mr. Congeniality.” St. Katharine Drexel was “Most Likely to Be a Millionaire” and St. Teresa of Calcutta was “Most Likely to Win a Nobel Peace Prize.” Each description is a creative nod to the life of the saint and the impact he or she had on the world.

There is no better way to learn from the saints than through their own words, so under the fictional “Hall of Fame” awards, each saint’s yearbook quote is from actual writings. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross advises, “When you seek truth, you seek God whether you know it or not.” Blessed Carlo Acutis is remembered with the words, “Our goal must be infinite, not the finite. The infinite is our homeland. Heaven has been waiting for us forever.” St. Thérèse of Lisieux says, “Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.”

Finally, each saint’s yearbook entry included a “Class of” designation. Rather than a graduation year, the date listed is from the year of death. Their triumphal entry into heaven is remembered after their good work on earth. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was Class of 1917 and St. José Sánchez del Río was Class of 1925. Venerable Augustus Tolton and St. Thérèse were both Class of 1897. St. Faustina was 1938, and Servant of God Emil Kapaun was 1951. While only a handful of saints are represented on the poster, it is a beautiful reminder of the centuries of Christians who have come before us.

And that was my overall goal for this project. Shared with my students at the beginning of the new school year, it is now displayed on my classroom door for all to see. My hope is that this “Hall of Fame of Holiness” is an inspiration to our school community. These men and women followed Christ and served the people of the Church during their lifetimes. They are the best of the best, each in unique, unrepeatable and irreplaceable ways. Jesus invites each of us to this greatness and has given us the model of the saints to guide us. As Pope St. Clement I said, “Follow the saints, because those who follow them will become saints.”

Holy men and women, pray for us!

This “Saint Yearbook” poster and all related teaching materials are available to download and print for free.