Imitate Your Favorite American Saint Contest

Written By Ellen Finnigan

Celebrating 250 years of American independence and over 500 years of Catholic American heritage!

On July 4, 2026, Americans will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But did you know that the legacy of the Catholic Church in the United States goes back more than 500 years? Catholics founded the city of St. Augustine, Florida in 1561. The first Catholic Mass was celebrated in Maryland in 1634.

We are excited to be offering a new class that will allow students to learn about American history through the lives of seven American saints. We are also launching a social media contest to give one group free enrollment!

Register Your Group

GRAND PRIZE
Free enrollment for your group in
“America: Course of Empire, Kingdom of Saints”

Up to 25 people. A $4,975 value!

“America: Course of Empire, Kingdom of Saints” is a 14-week self-paced course that allows students ages 14 and up to study American history through the lives of seven American saints (and potential future saints): The North American Martyrs, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Ven. Augustus Tolton, St. Xavier Frances Cabrini, St. Katharine Drexel, and Ven. Fulton Sheen. The course/curriculum is being created by Mr. Claudio Salvucci, a passionate scholar of early American history. It will be available in Spring 2026 as a self-paced course for individuals or as a co-teaching course for schools and co-ops, book clubs and church groups. Groups are encouraged to designate a live, on-site “co-teacher” to lead discussions, assign and grade additional work as needed, and offer opportunities for enrichment. The course will include:

  • an original course text for each student full of fascinating primary text material (hard copy)

  • hard copy study guides to facilitate close reading and critical thinking

  • weekly online lectures and quizzes

See Course

To promote our new course and to inspire people with examples of holiness, we’re launching a….

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTEST
December 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026

Imitate Your Favorite American Saint (or Future American Saint)

Theme: Celebrating America and American Catholic heritage through the lives of the saints

Prizes:

Who: Homeschool co-ops, high school humanities classes, church groups, book clubs; ages 14+

Imitate your favorite American saint.

Dress up as your favorite saints and do what they would do. Tell people about him or her. Invite friends on social media to guess the saint (or future saint). Be sure to tag us and use the two special hashtags!

(Here, Ms. Finnigan is imitating…Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to find out!)

Register Your Group

Entry Method / How to Participate

  • Primary contact registers your group

  • Teach to the Text emails rules, instructions, resources for posting

  • Participants imitate an American saint, Blessed, Venerable, or Servant of God in their posts

    • Share by posting on Facebook or Instagram

    • Use official frame

    • Write a post about the saint

    • Ask friends/followers to guess the saint in the comments

    • Tag Teach to the Text (@TeachtotheText)

    • Include official contest hashtag #KingdomofSaintsContest

    • Include group-specific hashtag

How to Win: The group with the most qualifying posts at midnight on March 31, 2026 wins!

Register Your Group

  • “Post”
    One post is one person imitating a particular saint using one of the contest frames and posted to an adult’s account on either Facebook or Instagram. An image of the same person imitating the same saint posted to different accounts or platforms will only count as one entry. Posts must celebrate America and American Catholic heritage and inspire virtue.

    “Imitate”
    To resemble someone in likeness (dress up as) and do as they do.

    “American Saint or Future American Saint”

    Someone who has been canonized by the Catholic Church or who has been given the title Servant of God, Venerable, or Blessed, and was born in the United States or whose cause for canonization was or is being investigated by an Archdiocese in the United States.

    Eligible Participants
    Participants include the person doing the imitation (appearing in the photograph) and the person doing the posting. Participants who are posting must be 18 years or older. Parents can post for their own children, or the school can post for minors on the school account after obtaining permission from the minor and the minor’s parents/guardians. Parents/guardians who wish to allow minors to participate by posting on their own accounts must email Teach to the Text granting permission for these posts to be qualifying.

    Cross-Posting
    Entries may only be submitted on Facebook or Instagram. Cross-posting the same entry on both platforms is allowed, but it will only count as one (1) qualifying post. 

    Multiple Entries
    Participants may imitate more than one saint and/or submit more than one imitation. All entries must follow the contest rules (public post, two, required hashtags, tagging @TeachToTheText, and use of the official frame). Every qualifying post adds to the group’s total.

    Blurred or Hidden Faces
    Faces may not be blurred, distorted, or covered with filters. The person in the photo must be clearly visible to ensure authenticity and to verify that a real participant is imitating the saint. However, a little bit of creative editing is allowed, such as to produce a background. Props or costumes related to the saint are allowed.

    Qualifying Posts
    All submissions must be posted using the group’s official group-specific hashtag, as well as the contest hashtag #kingdomofsaintscontest. Posts must “tag” @TeachtotheText. Posts must use one of our official frames.
    Posts without the group hashtag will not be counted toward the group’s total.
    Only registered groups are eligible for prizes and discounts.
    Each post counts toward one group only; cross-group entries are not permitted.

    Marketing Permissions
    Your posts will be displayed on our Facebook and Instagram accounts when you tag us. Aside from that, Teach to the Text will not use participants’ posts, images, or photos for any purpose without permission of participants. (For example, if we want to feature an awesome post in our newsletter, we will get permission from participants before doing so.)

    Shipping
    All materials associated with the winning group’s free enrollment will be shipped to one mailing address.

  • 1. Can we post on both Facebook and Instagram or on multiple accounts?
    Yes. You may post on either or both platforms, but posting the same content (same person imitating the same saint) only counts as one entry.

    2. Do we have to include names of participants in the post?
    No. 

    3. Can a participant do more than one imitation or post more than one saint imitation?
    Yes! Participants may post multiple entries as long as each one follows the contest rules.

    4. Do faces have to be visible?
    Yes, faces have to be visible. Faces cannot be blurred or obscured. The image must clearly show the participant.

    5. What if we aren’t comfortable posting photos of minors publicly?
    Adults can pose as saints and post the images to their accounts to help win the course for their children. Get the grandparents involved! 

    6. What if we don’t have a Facebook or Instagram account, and our school doesn’t have an account either? What if we want to participate but we aren’t comfortable making our personal account posts public and/or we want to remain anonymous or we want the minors to remain anonymous?
    All participants must be a part of a registered group whose primary contact is not anonymous. However, if an adult in your group wants to participate but remain anonymous, or if that person wants his or her child to remain anonymous, that person can contact us to sign a media consent form, after which he or she can email the image to us in the required frame with your group hashtag and we will post the image on a Teach to the Text account with no name associated, provided there are no minors in the post, or provided the person sending the image is a parent or guardian of any featured minors. Posts that are emailed to Teach to the Text for posting directly on our accounts will count as qualified entries, provided all rules are followed. Faces must still be shown but they will not be linked to a specific individual’s account.

    7. What counts as a valid “group”?
    Homeschool co-ops, high school humanities classes, church groups, book clubs, or similar communities with participants ages 14+ who have registered.

    8. Does everyone in the group have to live in the same geographical location?
    No. You can register with an online group, but please note: Course materials cannot be shipped to individual addresses and must all be shipped to the same mailing address.

    9. Can someone participate in more than one group?
    No. Each participant must submit entries under one group only.

    10. What if our group forgets to use our group-specific hashtag?
     The post will not count. All qualifying posts must include:

    • @TeachtotheText

    • #KingdomofSaintsContest

    • Your group’s official hashtag

    • A brief description of the saint and explanation of the images

    11. Do posts on private accounts count?
    Not unless the post is made public. All posts must remain public from the moment they are posted until after the winners are announced to qualify.

    12. Are AI-generated photos allowed?
    No. All entries must feature a real person in a real photograph.

    13. Will any other prizes be awarded?
    Perhaps.

    14. What if there is a tie?
    Teach to the Text will judge the final winner based on creativity and spirit, quality of reflections, faithfulness of representations, authentic engagement metrics (shares, likes, etc.), and if it is still a tie, the grand prize will go to the group that submitted their first qualifying post earlier.

FOLLOW US TO SEE THE FUN POSTS!

The North American Martyrs, d. 1642-1649

 
 

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680)

 
 

Ven. Augustus Tolton (1854-1897)

Ellen Finnigan
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