Teens invited to take faith deeper in ‘The Crypt’:
Dead Theologians Society explores lives of the saints at St. Joan of Arc, Kokomo
“The Crypt” was decorated to resemble an ancient, secret place of prayer.
By Kevin Cullen (The Catholic Moment)
KOKOMO — There’s something mysterious, sacred and cool about a newly redecorated basement room in St. Joan of Arc Church. It’s where teenagers in the The Dead Theologians Society explore the lives of the saints.
The new high-school youth group meets in “The Crypt.” It resembles one of the secret underground rooms where early saints and martyrs prayed. On meeting nights, the lights go out and devotional candles are lit. A CD player provides a soothing, contemplative background of Gregorian chant. A crucifix, plus statues that depict a half-dozen saints, sanctify this special space. “It’s very peaceful,” said Kory Davis, 18. “It really helps you block out everything that is going on outside. It helps you focus on the gifts that God wants you to learn there, and it adds a lot to the discussions.”
“We had a room that we wanted to turn into a kind of catacomb. We think it turned out pretty well,” said Ann Campbell, a lifelong parishioner and wife of the parish’s youth minister, Brian Campbell. “The teens are drawn to the statues, relics and candles.” Gone are the bare walls and plastic furniture that looked like it came from a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Volunteers painted the walls a mottled gray to resemble stone, then used artists’ brushes to add cracks and fissures. Lumber, chicken wire, cheesecloth and paint created artificial boulders. Real fieldstones and pieces of sandstone were brought in. Brian Campbell laid carpet squares, also the color of stone. Old church pews provide seating.
A notice was published in the church bulletin, asking for people to donate old religious figures, pictures and artifacts, even damaged ones. The Infant of Prague statue had been in the same family for more than 50 years; it is dressed in little cloth vestments and wears a crown.
The plaster figure of St. Therese of Lisieux stood in old St. Joseph Hospital, Logansport. Teresa Knight received it from her late aunt, who once worked there. “She left it to me, because that is my patron saint,” Knight said.
It had a place of honor in her home, but she felt it should be shared with others. “She will always be my patron saint, but by donating the statue to the church, it can influence others,” Knight said. “They can learn about St. Therese, ‘the Little Flower.’”
Statues of St. Christopher, the Virgin Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and St. Joseph also were donated to the Crypt. “Some donors said that no one in the family was interested in those things,” Ann Campbell said. “One woman seemed to be the depository for things whenever someone died. She made us bulletin boards full of stuff: little missals, prayer cards, rosaries, chaplets, scapulars.”
Kitty Auten, 70, donated figures of the Blessed Mother and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She had had them since grade school. For years, she displayed them in her bedroom. When she married, she took them with her. But her three boys were rowdy sometimes, she said, and caused some damage. The statues were consigned to the attic for approximately 20 years.
“You can’t just throw those things away; I can’t anyway,” Auten said. “When I saw that in the bulletin, I thought it would be a good use for them. I’m thrilled to death. I felt a little guilty every time I went into the attic and saw them just sitting there. They were a part of my life.” Colette Inderhees donated the statue of St. Joseph.
Her mother “probably got it from a convent,” she said. “We have a few relatives who are religious, and I have a feeling she said she got it from one of them, but I’m not sure.” The statue of St. Joseph in St. Joan of Arc Church also was donated by Inderhees. It came from the Monastery of the Poor Clares in Kokomo.
“St. Joseph has been a thing in our house and our family,” she said. The Dead Theologians Society at St. Joan of Arc, formed two months ago, has approximately 25 members. They meet in the Crypt twice a month.
The Campbells said that students enjoy the atmosphere, so rich with Catholic symbolism, tradition and history. The lives of saints are discussed, and that saint’s quotations and writings are showcased. It allows him to talk to the youth directly, and span the ages.
“We learn about the saints to become saints ourselves,” said Brian Campbell, youth minister for the past six years. “Some of the teenagers are very aware, and know a lot about a lot of different saints, while others are just beginning. “We hope that the kids, by learning about the saints, can see the holiness and relate to the imperfections,” he said.
“We incorporate their imperfections, big and small, and that drastic, radical life for Christ,” Ann Campbell said. “We want them to go deeper, to want that life of holiness themselves.” “We all know a few saints who seemed to be destined to be saints from an early age,” Brian Campbell said. “But to pull the kids in, you have to focus on saints that had some of the greatest sins. The conversion — that’s the beauty of it.”
“You find out that the saints had human struggles, just like we do,” said Davis, the 18-year-old. “It’s really cool to hear that.” An old iron stand holding dozens of devotional candles came from the old St. Joan of Arc church building. It is a focal point of the Crypt. The teenagers light candles and ask the group to pray for their special intentions, often the recovery of sick friends and relatives.
The response has been so encouraging that the Campbells said they’d like to see a Dead Theologians Society for young adults, aged 18 to 25. “Some of the kids are on fire,” Brian said.
“This isn’t designed to replace religious education,” Ann said. “It’s an ‘extra.’ We’re always searching for ways to help them go deeper.” “I joined as a way to go deeper into my faith,” Davis said. “That is really what I was looking for.”
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