Just past the front doors to Mercy High School, there is a large wooden cross with multi-color footprints on it. Each footprint has a different number on it; the numbers each represent miles, but what are these miles for?

Before the season of Lent, Campus Minister Ashley Miller sent an email with a survey. The survey was used to track students’ miles walked that day and for days prior (including but not beyond Ash Wednesday). The ultimate goal was 6,507 miles, which is the distance from Mercy High School to Jerusalem.

As each milestone was met, shoe shapes were cut out of colored construction paper and pasted on the cross. It only took us Monarchs a month to “walk” the distance to Jerusalem. Each mile was earned from actual steps, alms giving, praying and time spent at church. This combination of activities helped us reach our goal in the perfect amount of time!