January 8th was a day of both solemnity and joy this year, for the day marked the blessing and installation of a beautiful icon in the traditional Eastern style. The icon had been commissioned many months before by the Paul and Janine Pro-Life Club and members of the 2010 graduating class in honour of their classmates Paul Sanders and Janine Lieu, founders of the pro-life club, who tragically drowned in an accident on the Feast of the Presentation in February of 2008. The saintly example of these two students made a deep impression on their class and on the entire Academy community. Paul and Janine’s peers felt that the best way to commemorate them was in some manner that would point not only to them but to Christ and His Mother, as the two did in life. The result was the icon, which gorgeously depicts the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.

Students, alumni, and professors gathered in the St. Thomas Aquinas Lounge for the ceremony. The group included Louis and Mary Sanders, parents of Paul, Marysia Kowalchyk of Madonna House, who lovingly and painstakingly wrote the icon, and a number of Paul and Janine’s classmates. The gathering began with a few words from alumna Cassie Farrell, a good friend of both Paul and Janine and two year’s president of the OLSWA pro-life club named in their honour. She spoke of the holiness of the two students and the impact they made on those who knew them. She also took the opportunity to read a letter from Mr. and Mrs. Lieu, parents of Janine, who were unable to attend the ceremony but sent their thanks and prayers.

The reading of the letter was followed with the actual blessing of the icon. The ceremony was presided over by Fr. Ron Cafeo, also of Madonna House, who took the time to explain the significance of icons in both the Eastern and Western Catholic Church. The icon, he told those in attendance, signifies a union between God and man - it is prayer and art intertwined. It is not painted, but written, just as a prayer might be written. He proceeded to bless the icon according to the traditional manner, modelled after baptism and confirmation, with holy water and the oil of chrism.  Prayers and sacred readings were chanted over it. All were invited to process by and venerate the icon before it was installed in a prominent place in the lounge, where it will both keep alive the memory of Paul and Janine and inspire students to turn their hearts to God.

After the ceremony all were invited to stay for a short reception. Mr. And Mrs. Sanders expressed their thanks to the Academy and shared a memory or two about their son. It was a time of reunion for many who have since gone on from OLSWA to new pursuits. Alumni and professors reminisced and caught up on each others lives, while newer students admired the beauty of the icon. Paul and Janine will remain in the prayers of the Academy for many years to come.

Here is a beautiful article on Paul and Janine, written soon after their passing: