Sophia Wern loves the students she teaches at St. Helena Catholic School in Minneapolis. So, she wanted them there when her infant daughter was baptized.
The middle school language arts teacher’s wish was happily granted by the pastor of St. Helena, Father Marcus Milless, who baptized Savannah, born on Oct. 17, during an all school Mass Dec. 18. Sophia was there with her husband, Riley, and her two siblings, Matthew Lawrence and Serena Gross.
“I wanted the whole school there,” said Sophia Wern, 27, who has been teaching at the school for three years. “It was just extra special to have all the students there and then to have that much community support blessing our baby.”
The 11 eighth graders at the school are her homeroom class, and they were all there to not only observe but play key roles in the Mass. After the Mass, they served cake downstairs at a small reception. For Father Milless, it was the first time he has participated or even seen a baptism of a teacher’s baby during a school Mass.
“It’s a beautiful gift in this season of Advent to have our school family witness the gift and dignity of life and then new life in Christ that comes through baptism,” he said. “For me, it brought great joy. And then to see the kids’ expressions as they saw the little baby — how moving that was. I think it’s a great way for us to prepare for Christ’s coming at Christmas, as a school family.”
Sophia has been on maternity leave since Savannah was born and plans to return on Jan. 6 after the Christmas break. She hopes to bring Savannah to school so her students can see her again. Staff will take that opportunity, too, especially Nicole Derke, who has known Sophia since high school and serves as a school counselor at St. Helena.
“I loved it” Derke said of the baptism. “I thought it was beautiful. I loved that we were able to incorporate the school and the church and the family, all of which are important to her.”
Principal Karla Gergen called having the baptism during a school Mass “a powerful teaching moment for the students.” She said Sophia is “an important part of our staff.”
“She is a wonderful teacher,” Gergen said of Sophia. “She is just extraordinarily talented. She really cares about the students. The students love her. She’s just a powerful educator.”
This year, Sophia started teaching eighth-grade religion. She also directs plays at the school and will start preparing for an upcoming performance of “Newsies” when she returns in January.
