At Saint Joseph School, we believe that faith is nurtured not only in classrooms and church pews but also around the tables, living rooms, and quiet corners of our homes. To help strengthen this connection, the school has a special initiative—the Holy Family Traveling Statue Program.
Each week, one student and their family are invited to bring home a statue of the Holy Family. More than just a figure of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, this statue becomes a centerpiece of prayer, reflection, and family unity. Families are given devotional materials to guide their prayer life, including a Family Prayer Card and a Holy Family Pocket Prayer Book, as well as family devotional books that encourage parents and children to grow closer to God together.
The prayer card begins with the simple but profound reminder: "God made us a family. We need one another. We love one another. We forgive one another…" These words, when spoken together in the home, invite families to live as the Holy Family did—bound by love, strengthened by forgiveness, and committed to serving God and one another.
During the week, the statue becomes a reminder that Christ is present in the ordinary rhythms of family life—at meals, in moments of prayer, and even in the quiet times of togetherness. Families are encouraged to share their experiences of hosting the statue, describing how they displayed it, which prayers or devotions they used, and what it meant to them spiritually. These reflections are then shared with the school community, becoming a beautiful testimony that faith is alive not only in the parish and school but also in the heart of every home.
The program's goal is to strengthen the spiritual foundation of families by uniting what students learn at school with how they live at home. It reminds us that the Holy Family is not just a model of holiness from the past, but a present guide for how we, too, can live with faith, love, and hope in our own families.
This past week marked the beginning of the program for the 2025–2026 school year. Following the school's weekly Divine Mercy devotion, Fr. Richard Polek presented the statue to Grade 7 student Evelyn Macko, who was the first student selected to host the Holy Family. Evelyn and her family will now spend a week praying with the statue and sharing their reflections when they return it to the school.
In welcoming the Holy Family into their homes, our families are reminded that holiness does not depend on grand gestures but is found in daily acts of love, forgiveness, and prayer. Just as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived simply yet faithfully, so too are we called to let our homes become little sanctuaries of God's love.
Through this traveling devotion, Saint Joseph School invites every family to see the presence of God in the heart of their homes, drawing closer to Him together and allowing the Holy Family to inspire their journey of faith.
