School Peace Pole

John XXIII Memorial Peace Pole Dedication

June 8, 2006

John XXIII School celebrated an emotional memorial dedication in honour of a dear student, Noah who passed away after a short but courageous battle with cancer.  It was an emotional event with prayer, song, speeches, and the release of 37 Painted Lady butterflies (the students raised the butterflies from larvae).  To mark the occasion the school erected a beautiful peace pole in loving memory of Noah.  The pole was blessed by Father Steven Skakaczki. 

  The Peace Pole project is an international project endorsed by the World Peace Organization.  A Peace Pole is a hand-crafted monument that displays the message and prayer May Peace Prevail on Earth on each of its four or six sides, usually in different languages. There are more than 200,000 Peace Poles in 180 countries all over the world dedicated as monuments to peace. They serve as constant reminders for us to visualize and pray for world peace. Peace poles around the world have been dedicated to very special individuals because of their great work in promoting a culture of peace…Blessed Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, and the Dali Lama to name a few.

John XXIII is the only school in Southern Ontario with such a pole.  The school community endorsed this project as a means of honouring our student as well as honouring the inspiring messages of “Peace & Obedience” as proclaimed by our patron John XXIII.  The pole was built by some of our graduating students now at St. Martin Secondary School under the guidance of Mr. Frank Mancini Technology teacher.  The school community is extremely grateful for the work of their hands and for the time and effort they put into creating our beautiful pole. 

Laying the foundation of a peaceful world is one of the greatest challenges for families, schools and communities.  We must all accept the challenge to look beyond differences of race, religion, ethnicity and culture, and to be active peacemakers in building a world founded in a culture of peace and non-violence for all people. Peace starts in our homes and spreads to school activities and recess school yards.  Peace at school extends to communities and continues to reach out to others which hopefully will lead to involvement in activities that address global issues.  It was very powerful that our courageous student, through his suffering and death has brought people together as one with the shared goal of creating world peace.  This pole and the beautiful dedication ceremony was reminder to us all we must become one community in hope that peace will prevail on earth.