“It was a wonderful acknowledgement,” said Ladonna Lambert, principal at St. Hyacinth Academy. “The fact that it recognizes St. Hyacinth for the whole month and that it came from the mayor who is an alumnus of the school; it was a great opportunity for our school.”
The solemn presentation included remarks from San Jacinto Mayor Andrew Kotyuk and a display of the life of the Polish saint, known as San Jacinto in Spanish, presented by Michael Dutkowski, a representative from the Polish American Congress and Charities of Southern California.
While school was not in session during the presentation of the proclamation, the school did send out invitations to all registered families and a small group of students were able to attend.
Lambert said she planned to share the news of the proclamation with the entire student body during one of the school’s Friday assemblies. She applauds the city for the honor and hopes it might prompt others to look into the life of the relatively unknown saint.
“This provides an opportunity for us to get a better understanding of who St. Hyacinth was and his mission,” Lambert said.
St. Hyacinth was a Dominican missionary called “the Apostle of Poland.” A native of Poland, he preached in Poland, Pomerania, Denmark, Prussia, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Russia, China, and Tibet. He died in Cracow, Poland, on August 15. Hyacinth was canonized in 1594 by Pope Clement VIII.