Iron sharpens iron. I want my students to understand that holiness often grows exponentially among groups of friends or family members who are all choosing to pursue God and His will for their lives. So many of the Saints who have gone before us have been companions or family members of other Saints- holiness begets holiness.
So for Catholic Schools Week, we are going to play this Saintly Friends Bingo with our Buddy Classrooms (older grades with younger grades). The game features a Bingo board with 24 pairs of Saints who knew each other in real life. The "calling cards" tell a short fact about the pair of Saints before the players cover them on their Bingo cards. (With room for variations- play it like trivia, tell a story about the pair, tie breakers using facts, etc.) I think this game would also be perfect for St. Valentine's Day parties!
There are 24 different Bingo Cards- great for a classroom set. And if you want to save a little paper, you can print them two per page and make mini Bingo cards that are still perfect for play. If you are only going to play one round, kids can color each square as it is called. Or you can use any small object for Bingo markers (math manipulatives, dried beans, legos, etc.) An "O" shaped marker like cheerios or lifesavers would be super cute- like a halo for each Saint! You can also take the game a step further and have the students flip over their card and draw a picture or write a list of facts about one of the Saint pairs. Reading the card can also function as a special Saintly Friends litany. Lots of possibilities!
You can read more about Saints growing in holiness in pairs or groups in these articles here, here, and here. This list is comprised of married couple who are canonized (or on their way!). And Kendra has my very favorite "Love Like the Saints" Valentine Cards in this post- they are so cute!
My Confirmation students complete an activity called "Saintly BFFs" where they try to connect their chosen Confirmation Saint to Saintly friend or family member- it's always awesome to see how many connections they can find! I started a doc as a resource list for me that I plan to continue to add to, but if it's helpful check out this growing list of Saintly friends and family members.
I hope you have lots of fun with this versatile Saint game!
Click here for the Saintly Friends Bingo Cards:
Click here for the Saintly Friends Clues:
If you are looking for books to go along with your Saintly Friends Bingo game, here are a few that feature some of these holy pairs. (I'm sure there are many more- this was just a stack I pulled out to use! Feel free to add your favorites in the comments.)
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Books about Saints who were friends:
- Brigid and the Butter by Pamela Love (Brigid & Patrick)
- Saints and Their Stories by Maria Loretta Giraldo (Joachim & Anne)
- Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times by Meghan Bausch (Therese, Louis, & Zelie, and Lucia, Jacinta & Francisco)
- The Children’s Book of Saints by Louis M. Savary (Francis & Clare, John Bosco & Dominic Savio, Martin de Porres & Rose of Lima, Jane Frances de Chantal & Francis de Sales)
- A Catholic Child’s Illustrated Lives of the Saints (Francis & Clare, John Bosco & Dominic Savio, Martin de Porres & Rose of Lima, Jane Frances de Chantal & Francis de Sales, Augustine & Monica, Joachim & Anne, Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier)
- Holy Friends: Thirty Saints and Blesseds of the Americas by Diana M. Amadeo (Rose of Lime and Martin de Porres)
- Stories of Daring Teen Saints by Colleen Swaim (Kizito & Charles Lwanga, Dominic Savio & John Bosco)
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