Elizabeth Ficocelli's program at St. Mary School
during Catholic Schools Week of 2007 was one of
the most memorable we've had. She spoke to the
different grade levels, selecting appropriate
themes based on her writing and using
illustrations well adapted for each age group. She
mesmerized the eighth graders with her description
of the apparitions of Lourdes and inspired the
second graders who were anticipating their First
Holy Communion. This is one speaker we would like
to invite often to share new writings and
insights.
Julie Lindsey, Librarian, St. Mary’s Catholic School, Lancaster

I just wanted to thank you for your recent visit
to St. Mary School. My 8th graders really enjoyed
your presentations. They were very attentive
during your talk on St. Bernadette and shared with
me when we were back in the classroom how much
they enjoyed the PowerPoint pictures. They learned
much more about St. Bernadette. They also liked
the second presentation because they connected
with your faith journey as they are embarking on a
faith journey themselves. Thank you for being a
positive role model for our children.
Kathleen Van Evra, teacher, St. Mary’s Catholic School, Lancaster, Ohio

“Overpowering; an uplifting way to get young
people to notice their faith…”
Maddie, age 14

“A much needed reminder that faith is never dull
and that God always
watches out for us…”
Theresa, age 15

“Inspiring;
helped us understand our faith journey…”
John, age 14

I know the children gained a tremendous amount of
knowledge about being an author and especially an
appreciation for your passion! Thank you so much
for making our Catholics School Week special! It
was great having you visit St. Alphonsus.
Sr. Mariella Bradley, R.S.M., Principal,
St. Alphonsus Catholic School, Wexford, PA

Dear Mrs. Ficocelli,
Thank you for teaching me about Reconciliation.
Now that I know when I go talk to the priest, I
won’t be that scared. I learned something -- if I
go talk to the priest, I’ll know that he will
understand all my problems and questions. You are
a great teacher and friend. I’m so glad that you
came in and talked about Reconciliation with us
because I was really scared before you came in.
Maggie, age 8

Dear Mrs. Ficocelli,
Thank you for coming to our classroom to teach us
about Reconciliation. I enjoyed the story you
read. I learned that you don’t have to be afraid.
The book taught me that God and the priest want to
help me. They want to help me start off clean the
next day. I learned a lot from your visit.
Abbie, age 7

Dear Mrs.
Ficocelli,
Thanks you for coming in our classroom. I’m
excited to make my First Reconciliation. In your
book, Clair was afraid to make her First
Reconciliation. But I’m not afraid, because I know
God is with us. Clair also did some bad things I
have done some little things like that.
Samantha, age 7
Dear Mrs. Ficocelli,
Wow! I’m amazed about Reconciliation! I’m still a
little bit scared. I loved your book. I learned so
much. I can’t wait until my First Reconciliation!
Jayden, age 7

Dear Mrs. Ficocelli,
Thank you for coming to our class. Your talk on
Reconciliation was interesting. I liked the
stories you told. The book you read was nice and
had pretty pictures. Now Reconciliation makes more
sense to me. Thank you for taking time to teach us
about Reconciliation.
Allison, age 8

Dear Mrs. Ficocelli,
Thank you for teaching us about Reconciliation. I
think I’m not scared anymore. I know I will be
forgiven. Thank you for reading the book you
wrote. I now the children will love it. Please
come again another day.
Christian, age 7

Her presentations are fun and interesting, she can
really relate to us kids, because she has four
boys of her own. She makes everything enjoyable
and, you also get to learn about her and her
writings in the process! I promise you will enjoy
it, and learn many interesting things about her
and her books!
Kaitlyn, age 12

I LOVE HER PRESENTATIONS! They are cool and fun!
They are cool because you get to learn about her
books, and about her and her conversion story into
the Catholic faith! I think you will like them a
lot, and be able to easily relate to the things
she talks about!!
Chris, age 10

Thank you for attending our school to talk to us
about all the amazing things about our religion.
I think it is important to teach young kids
about it because we are the future of the world.
The really cool thing about it is that you
weren’t even a Catholic Christian until the age
of 23. This means you must have really listened
to your calling to God very closely. For me,
hearing about all these miracles really made me
think even deeper into my faith. It was a really
awesome overall presentation.
Luke C, grade 8

Your presentation was very enthusiastic, and also
informative about how God has chosen regular
everyday people to fulfill his miracles and
different works on earth. I just wanted you to
know how much I appreciate your outstanding work
on teaching people like myself about living a
holier life, dedicated to God.
Lauren D, grade 8

The presentation you gave was interesting and told
me a lot about my faith that I didn’t know
before. Most of the things that you talked about
were truly inspiring and showed that God reveals
himself to people all over the world and even
today miracles are happening. My classmates and
I all agreed that you were a great Christian
role model and that we should learn more about
our faith. Hearing your presentation taught me
so much that I couldn’t have learned from my
religion textbook or the Bible. I am glad that
people like you give their time to teach others
about their faith. Thank you for giving your
time so that I may learn more about being a
Catholic and so that I may better understand how
to praise God. I hope that many people buy your
books so that they too may get closer to the
Lord and learn from you so that they will go out
and tell others about God.
Hannah P, grade 7

When I heard you were coming to talk about your
religious books, I thought to myself, “…not
again. This is going to be boring.” But, when
you started the presentation, I started to
become interested in it. I was intrigued by the
weeping pictures and statues of water, oil, or
blood. I could not believe that you were a
convert who used to be in a different religion.
You seemed so passionate about God and the
amazing miracles he has performed and is still
performing. I am truly inspired by the talk and
presentation that you gave.
Kayla T, grade 8

We have had authors at our school before, but they
mostly talked about their books and themselves,
and some of them weren’t Catholic. It was nice
having a Catholic author come and talk about our
religion. All of the miracles you talked about
were really fascinating and I would love to
learn more.
Danielle E, grade 7
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