Second-graders at Denver Catholic school re-enact Last Supper

Published: 2007-04-05

DENVER (CNS) -- It looked amazingly like the Leonardo da Vinci painting of the Last Supper -- only the faces seated around the long table were those of 7- and 8-year-olds. For some 15 years, Karen Merten has had her second-graders at Blessed Sacrament School in Denver re-enact the Last Supper to deepen their understanding of what took place on Holy Thursday when Christ instituted the Eucharist. The exercise not only helps them prepare for Easter, but also for their first Communion in May. Merten's class held a dress rehearsal of the play March 29; they were to present it for parents on Holy Thursday, April 5. As narrators set the scene of Jesus celebrating the Passover meal with his Twelve Apostles, the action began. "Today I come to celebrate a meal," proclaimed Jesus, otherwise known as Paul Meaney. "Who will eat this meal with me?" "I am Simon, a fisherman. I will be called Peter and will become the first head of the church on earth," responded Eli Bartlett as he stood. "I will eat this meal with you."

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