San Antonio School Trip

Last Wednesday and Thursday I traveled to San Antonio with
~~6 of my 7th grade Texas History students
~~2 wonderful faculty co-workers and
~~ an awesome parent.

We made it into town just in time for Mass at San Fernando Cathedral.

There is some significant Texas History connected to that cathedral and it is beautiful to boot. Smallish for a "Cathedral" if you are comparing to say, St Patrick's Cathedral in NYC, but rich in history and character. The cathedral is the mother church of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that our Mass was bilingual. Over half the students in my class are native Spanish speakers.

The next step of our journey was my absolute favorite part of our trip. We went to Archdiocesan Chancery for a private meeting with Bishop Thomas Flanagan. When Bishop Flanagan shook my hand he radiated love and generosity and goodness. I don't care if this sounds hokey . . . there is no other way to explain it. He took his time meeting each student, put us all at ease and told us a few stories about his journey.

Here's a photo of our visit: June 10th marks Bishops Flanagan's 51st year as a priest! His eyes were young and lively with that wonderful Irish twinkle that we all hear about. . . (think "Father Connolly" played by Pat O'Brien in the classic Cagney movie, Angels With Dirty Faces).


The trip moved on to include the customary visits to the Alamo, 2 missions, the River Walk, El Mercado and a water taxi ride down the river.

I hope as my students get older they remember their time with Bishop Flanagan and realize what a privilege it was. I was VERY pleased that they were so respectful and well behaved. (So, if you guys are reading this - consider that a very big compliment!)