The Labre Wall

Most St. Edward students leave school to go home to warmth and nearly guaranteed food, but our homeless friends usually don’t have that privilege… A majority of people reading this article that have been to the library in the last few months, have also most likely seen the mural of St. Benedict Joseph Labre on the wall in front of Mrs. Wagner’s desk. In case you’re wondering, St. Benedict Joseph Labre was the patron saint of the homeless. As stated on the Labre Ministry prayer card for St. Edward, he “gave up honor, money, and home, for love of Jesus.” The mural itself was created by Mrs. Wagner. She said during an interview after school on Monday, December 11, 2017 that she was growing tired of looking at the blank wall that was put in front of her desk earlier this year, so she decided to create something that would commemorate one of her favorite forms of service offered at St. Edward High School. Around the mural you might’ve noticed that there are pieces of painted wood that are created in a stained glass fashion. If you take a closer look at these pieces of wood, you will notice that they have names on them with dates. These names are of people that have previously done (or are doing) the Labre Ministry, and the dates represent when they created their piece, after each session.

People Found On Labre

The Labre Ministry has served over 40 people so far, and this number is vastly growing. Going off of personal experience, and the many weeks that I’ve done it, I can say with confidence, that the people we serve, are really grateful, and really appreciate our company. If you’re familiar with the name Eddie, you’ve either been on the “Expedition Team” (the group that goes out), or you know someone that has been on it. Eddie Roberts, probably the most popular stop of the Labre Ministry because of his amazing camp he’s set up, is always wanting us to stay for longer since he doesn’t really have anyone to talk to on a normal basis. This is one of the reasons that people like (and are encouraged) to try the Expedition Team over the Preparation Team, they get to not only experience what it’s like to deal with crazy weather conditions and what it’s like to help someone less fortunate, because you could learn that doing a community meal and going out in the cold after to walk home. People are encouraged to build relationships with the people we serve, which at its core, is the intended purpose of this after school service opportunity.