Saints in the Making
An art project for Norfolk schools in partnership with
Norwich Cathedral and the Diocese of Norwich
What exactly is a saint?
• Christians define a saint as:
“someone who listens to God
and tries to do what he wants”
• A saint is a person who is worthy of honour, who
does something extraordinary, exemplary,
wonderful, often refusing material attachments or
comforts.
What exactly is a saint? (continued)
A
•
•
•
saint can be a range of people:
From the New Testament, such as St Peter
A historical and legendary saint, such as St George
Contemporary inspirational people who are
‘wonder workers’ responsible for a movement or
organisation to help make the world a better
place. Some are still living today, while others,
such as Nelson Mandella have died.
How can your school represent
your chosen saint through a work of art?
• You may be inspired to choose one of the 10
examples featured in this pack or to think of one
of your own
• While choosing your saint, think about how that
person resonates with the values which are
important to your school
• Once you have decided, it is time to be as creative
as you can. How are you going to express the
essence of your saint through your sculpture?
Your chosen saint through a work of art
• How will your saint make an impact in the
cathedral cloister, among many others?
• Ideally, it needs to be between 5 and 6 feet tall,
free standing and robust enough to withstand
being exhibited for a week in a draughty cloister!
• Your saint needs to be transportable, so you can
bring it to the cathedral.
Your chosen saint through a work of art
• Think out of the box. Can you use recycled
materials? Different textures and textiles? Might
your saint be a giant head, or a standing, sitting or
reclining figure?
• The following images may trigger some ideas…
Our top ten saints
1. Saint Walstan – a Norfolk saint
2. St Peter
3. St Michael
4. St Nicholas
5. St Luke
6. St Elizabeth of Hungary
7. Edith Cavell – a Norfolk heroine
8. Martin Luther King
9. Nelson Mandela
10. Mother Teresa
Saint Walstan – a Norfolk saint
Gave his life to the poor, including farmers and
farm animals
• St Walston is often represented
with a scythe in his hand and
cattle near him. St Walstan’s
day is celebrated every year in
Bawburgh where a special
service takes place on the
nearest Sunday to 30 May, his
feast date.
Saint Walstan – a Norfolk saint (continued)
• Born into a wealthy family in Norfolk over a
thousand years ago. Although he left his parents’
home at the age of 12 to work as a farm labourer
in Taverham.
• He gave his food and clothing to the poor and
sometimes even his shoes.
• He spent much of his time praying for others less
fortunate than himself.
• He dedicated his life to farming and the care of
farm animals.
Saint Walstan – a Norfolk saint (continued)
• Walston became the patron saint of farms,
farmers, farmhands, ranchers and husbandrymen.
• He died on 30 May 1016 at work in a meadow,
scything a hay crop. It is said that he had a vision
of an angel before he died. His body was laid on a
cart pulled by two white oxen as he had instructed
and the cortege ended up at Bawburgh, where he
was buried. At the three points along the journey
where the oxen stopped, it is said that a spring
arose. There is still a well today to be found at
Bawburgh.
St Peter (1 of the disciples of Jesus)
A man who made mistakes and was forgiven.
Jesus’ right hand man and leader of the
Christian church after his death
• Also known as Simon Peter,
according to the New Testament.
• A fisherman, Jesus called him to be
a fisher of people instead.
• Peter was always there, through
bad times and good and saw the
miracles that Jesus did.
St Peter (continued)
• Peter remembered everything that happened with
Jesus, so that later it could be written down for
people to read about.
• He wasn’t perfect. He had a warm heart and a
quick temper. He told Jesus that he was prepared
to die for him, but within hours - when he was
questioned by Jesus’ enemies - Peter denied that
he even knew him. This was a terrible mistake,
but Jesus forgave him because he was so sorry
and Peter was one of the first people Jesus
appeared to after he rose from the dead.
St Peter (continued)
• Jesus told Peter, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ He meant
that Peter was to look after all those who loved
Jesus, like a shepherd.
• He also said that Peter would hold the keys to the
kingdom of heaven, which is why he is often
represented holding two large keys.
• Peter learnt by his mistake and became a great
leader, helping to spread the good news far and
wide.
St Michael
A healing angel, and then over time as a
protector and the leader of the army of God
against the forces of evil
• St Michael the Archangel is often
depicted treading on a dragon;
carrying a banner, scales, and
sword.
• It is said that Michael is always
on the watch to defeat badness,
wickedness and wrong doing on
earth.
St Michael (continued)
• According to the Book of Revelation in the New
Testament, the great archangel, Michael lived in
heaven alongside another archangel, Lucifer, who
wanted to take God’s throne for himself.
• Lucifer gathered together a small following and
Michael was chosen by God to defeat him.
• Lucifer had become an evil dragon and Michael
and his angels defeated him and cast him out of
heaven down to earth.
• The feast of St Michael is celebrated on
Michaelmas Day on 29 September.
St Nicholas
Known as a friend and protector to those in
need, his love for children, and his concern for
sailors and ships. The true story of Santa
Claus begins with St Nicholas.
• Many stories and legends have
been told about St Nicholas
throughout the ages.
• The anniversary of his death
became a day of celebration; St
Nicholas day on 6 December.
St Nicholas (continued)
• He was born in the 3rd century in a village which is
now in Turkey.
• His wealthy parents brought him up to be a
Christian and they died when he was still young.
• He gave up all his inheritance to help the needy,
sick and suffering and became a Bishop.
• He was persecuted for his Christian faith by the
Roman Emperor and put in prison. When he came
out, he performed a great many good deeds for
many people.
St Nicholas (continued)
• One story tells of a poor man with three
daughters. In those days a young woman's father
had to offer prospective husbands something of
value - a dowry.
• The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a
young woman would find a good husband.
Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry.
• This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were
therefore destined to be sold into slavery.
St Nicholas (continued)
• Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of
gold appeared in their home, providing the needed
dowries.
• The bags of gold, tossed through an open window,
are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left
before the fire to dry.
• This led to the custom of children hanging
stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting
gifts from Saint Nicholas, the gift giver.
St Nicholas (continued)
• Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead
of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls,
sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the
symbols for St. Nicholas.
• Children today often have oranges and gold
chocolate coins in their stockings.
• St Nicholas died on December AD 343 in Myra and
was buried in his cathedral church.
St Luke (Luke the Evangelist)
A Greek doctor and one of the four evangelist
authors who wrote the Gospels of Jesus Christ,
as well as the Acts of the Apostles in the New
Testament
• St Luke stands for hope,
forgiveness and compassion for
the poor; often represented with
an ox or a calf because they are
the symbols of sacrifice – the
sacrifice Christians believe Jesus
made for all the world.
St Luke (continued)
• Luke the doctor was called to treat St Paul who
was travelling round the Mediterranean to tell
people about Jesus. After healing him, he
travelled with him on the road as his loyal friend
and wrote an account of the extraordinary things
he saw happen to Paul and his companions.
• Luke also wrote his Gospel about the life of Jesus.
His Gospel features a great deal about the poor
and social justice, as well as the women in Jesus’
life and God’s forgiveness and mercy.
St Elizabeth of Hungary
A woman born into a rich family who married a
King but gave her short life to the sick and
poor
• Elizabeth was born in 1207, the
daughter of King Andrew II of
Hungary.
• At the age of 14 she married
King Louis IV in Germany and
had three children.
• She died in 1231 at the age of
24.
St Elizabeth of Hungary (continued)
• Although she had a privileged life, she supported
the poor and sick, including spinning wool for their
clothing and giving away a great deal of her
money, state robes and ornaments.
• She built a hospital with 28 beds and daily tended
to the inmates.
• Her life changed forever when her husband died of
a fever at a Crusade. She was forced by her
brother in law to move away to a castle without
her children.
St Elizabeth of Hungary (continued)
• At the castle she lived like a nun and built a
second hospital to care for the poor and sick.
• Elizabeth is best known for the miracle of the
roses. She was taking a basket of bread to the
poor, when a hunting party asked her to reveal
what was hidden under her cloak, thinking that
she was stealing treasure from the castle.
• In that moment, the cloak fell open and a vision of
white and red roses could be seen, which proved
that God’s protecting hand was at work. She is
often depicted holding a basket of bread.
Edith Cavell – a Norfolk heroine
A British nurse during the First World War who
saved the lives of soldiers in Brussels from all
sides and was shot for ‘assisting men to the
enemy.’
• Edith Louisa Cavell was born in
Swardeston on 4 December 1865,
the daughter of a clergyman.
• Edith loved nature and
surrounded herself with plants
and animals, which she enjoyed
drawing and painting.
Edith Cavell (continued)
• Edith began her adult life as a governess in
Brussels, then came home to nurse her father and
decided to train as a nurse.
• After nursing in England, she went out to Brussels
and was put in charge of a pioneer training school
for nurses in 1907 and later provided nurses for
several hospitals and schools.
• She often returned to visit her mother in Norwich,
but when war was declared in 1914, she went
back to Brussels and cared for the wounded of all
nationalities in a Red Cross hospital.
Edith Cavell (continued)
• When two English soldiers became stranded, she
cared for them and helped them to escape to
Holland through an underground network of
helpers.
• A year later, she had helped over 200 British
soldiers to get away from the German enemy in
this way. Edith knew that she was taking a big
risk, harbouring allied soldiers and she was found
out, arrested, interrogated and imprisoned in a
cell.
Edith Cavell (continued)
• Edith was accused of ‘successfully conducting the
enemy of the allied soldiers to the German people
and was to be shot the following day.
• She had a very strong faith in God. She prayed
with an English chaplain the night before her
death and took the Sacrament.
• She was brave and calm to the last and said,
“Standing as I do in view of God and Eternity, I
realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have
no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.”
Edith Cavell (continued)
• She was shot by two firing squads in the early
hours of 12 October 1915. Her death caused a
huge outcry in Britain.
• She was hurriedly buried in the rifle range, but
after the war in 1919, the remains of her body
were brought by ship to Dover and her coffin was
escorted to Westminster Abbey for the first part of
the burial service. Her coffin was then put on a
special train to Norwich and processed to the
cathedral where she was buried outside in a quiet
spot called Life’s Green.
Martin Luther King
A black American clergyman and a leading
figure who preached the cause of non-violent
protests for equality and the same rights for
all
• Martin was so inspirational,
wise and humane, that he
was given the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1964. He wanted to
help poor people of all races
and see an end to wars.
Martin Luther King (continued)
• Born in 1929, Martin understood that black
American people at that time did not have the
same rights as white people and were not equal
before the law.
• People were getting angry and rebelling and
Martin saw that this would only lead to bloodshed,
so he decided to preach the cause without
violence. “I have a dream,” he said, “That all men
some day will be brothers.”
Martin Luther King (continued)
• Black people listened to him and followed him, as
well as white people and the American
government voted to end some of the worst
abuses the ethnic minority had been suffering.
“I have decided to stick with love,” he said.
“Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
• Sadly, he was not popular with more militant
people and he was shot on a hotel balcony in
December 1967.
Nelson Mandela –
the most famous prisoner in the world
The first black president of South Africa,
Mandela spent 27 years in prison and is famous
for his long fight against a bad government and
racial prejudice. He became
a hero to people all over the
world
• Nelson Mandela was born in
1918 at a time when black
people had little say in how
South Africa was run.
Nelson Mandela (continued)
• In 1918 the government was whites-only. Most
black people were poor and they worked as
servants on farms, and in factories and gold
mines.
• In 1942 Mandela became a lawyer. He set up the
first black law firm, so poor people could come to
him for help.
• In 1944 he joined the African National Congress
(ANC), who wanted black South Africans to have
the same human rights as whites.
Nelson Mandela (continued)
• In 1948 the South African government made new
laws to keep white and black people apart. The
new system was called 'apartheid'. Many white
people, as well as black people, spoke out against
apartheid. Mandela hoped that peaceful protests
could get rid of apartheid, without fighting.
• Speaking out was a very dangerous thing to do.
When the ANC was banned in 1960, Mandela
became a leader of a secret army. He had to hide
and use disguises, but was hunted down by the
police.
Nelson Mandela (continued)
• In 1965 Mandela was arrested and imprisoned for
life for sabotage. He spent 18 years on Robben
Island where he had to do hard labour. He was
then moved to another prison.
• In 1990 Mandela was set free by the new
President FW de Clerk. Mandela called on all
South Africans to work together in peace.
• In 1991 he became leader of the ANC.
• In the 1994 elections, all black people in South
Africa were able to vote for the first time.
Nelson Mandela (continued)
• The ANC won the 1994 election and Nelson
Mandela became South Africa's first black
president.
• Mandela was welcomed around the world as a
great statesman (world leader) and was given
many honours, including a shared Nobel Peace
prize with FW de Klerk in 1993.
• In 1999 Mandela retired as President and from
2004, he gave up politics to enjoy a quiet life with
his family. He died on 5 December 2013 following
a lung disease.
Mother Teresa
A Roman Catholic religious sister and
missionary who cared for the poor, hungry,
homeless and sick for over 50 years
• Born in Albania on 26 August
1910 and named Anjeze, she
knew that she wanted to commit
herself to a religious life at the
age of 12 and left home aged 18
to join the Sisters of Loreto as a
missionary.
Mother Teresa (continued)
• She took her vows at the age of 21 and chose the
name Teresa after the patron saint of missionaries.
• She taught in a convent school for nearly 20 years,
but felt that God was calling her to work with the
poorest of the poor so she created a new religious
community in Calcutta and set up the Missionaries
of Charity.
• In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
and asked that the money usually spent on the
prize giving ceremony was spent on the poor in
India instead.
Mother Teresa (continued)
• By 1997 more than 4000 sisters were running
orphanages, AIDS hospices, leprosy hospices and
charity centres worldwide.
• Although some criticized her for her strong views
on contraception and abortion, she was widely
admired for her charitable works and her life-long
devotion to the sick and poor was astonishing.
• She died on 5 September 1997 and was given a
state funeral by the Indian government in
gratitude to her services to the poor and all
religions of India.
Mother Teresa (continued)
• She was later know as Mother Teresa.
• In 2007 the Missionaries of Charity numbered
approximately 450 brothers and 5,000 sisters
worldwide, operating 600 missions, schools and
shelters in 120 countries.
Good luck with your project