Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School, St. Louis, Missouri
About our flags:
We had a great collaborative experience with our set of prayer flags, ensuring that everyone touched them prayerfully and practically to make our mark on each one. Our Fine Arts Department at VDOH designed and facilitated the creation of our flags in partnership with Campus Ministry.
As one school, we have taken on the theme from Mother Stuart’s quote, “Life is a sacred journey,” and the flagstook a sacred, creative journey across our campus. They began at our Lower School, Oak Hill, where each student, faculty and staff member put their thumbprints on the flags. As our formation of students begins there, the foundation of our design was laid at Oak Hill.
The flags traveled uphill to Villa Duchesne, where five symbols were “watermarked” on them using contact paper.
· An oak leaf to represent our namesake, Philippine Duchesne, whose name means “of the oak,”
· An acorn to represent the seed of the oak, scattered throughout St. Louis,
· A botonnee cross (a heraldic cross adorned with buttons) to represent our Catholic Christian identity,
· A fleur-de-lis – the symbol of St. Louis - representing our city’s French heritage,
· An open heart and cross, to represent our membership in the Sacred Heart family.
Students, faculty and staff of Villa Duchesne were then invited to sign the flags with their names and/or initials to fill in the space. Just as the educational experience continues at Villa, the creation continued in the Upper School Art Wing. Finally, to ensure the watermarks were visible, a glaze was put over the flags.
The Upper and Lower Schools each had an International Peace Day Prayer Service on Friday, September 20th, where the flags were literally touched by each person. With one hand on our hearts and the other on the flags, we walked the church and our prayers for peace and blessings throughout the Network were put into the flags.
May the prayers of the Sacred Heart family at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School blow throughout the Network as, together, we celebrate the sacred journey of the year in honor of Mother Stuart!
As one school, we have taken on the theme from Mother Stuart’s quote, “Life is a sacred journey,” and the flagstook a sacred, creative journey across our campus. They began at our Lower School, Oak Hill, where each student, faculty and staff member put their thumbprints on the flags. As our formation of students begins there, the foundation of our design was laid at Oak Hill.
The flags traveled uphill to Villa Duchesne, where five symbols were “watermarked” on them using contact paper.
· An oak leaf to represent our namesake, Philippine Duchesne, whose name means “of the oak,”
· An acorn to represent the seed of the oak, scattered throughout St. Louis,
· A botonnee cross (a heraldic cross adorned with buttons) to represent our Catholic Christian identity,
· A fleur-de-lis – the symbol of St. Louis - representing our city’s French heritage,
· An open heart and cross, to represent our membership in the Sacred Heart family.
Students, faculty and staff of Villa Duchesne were then invited to sign the flags with their names and/or initials to fill in the space. Just as the educational experience continues at Villa, the creation continued in the Upper School Art Wing. Finally, to ensure the watermarks were visible, a glaze was put over the flags.
The Upper and Lower Schools each had an International Peace Day Prayer Service on Friday, September 20th, where the flags were literally touched by each person. With one hand on our hearts and the other on the flags, we walked the church and our prayers for peace and blessings throughout the Network were put into the flags.
May the prayers of the Sacred Heart family at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School blow throughout the Network as, together, we celebrate the sacred journey of the year in honor of Mother Stuart!