By Kyle Van Frank, Executive Director of FIRE Foundation of Denver
One of the great gifts of childhood is the gift of a sibling.
As a younger brother, I can certainly attest to the challenges of having older siblings: the hand-me-downs, always being last in line for anything with our family, the teasing and antagonizing.
But beyond all those trivial annoyances is a gift of goodness that far outweighs the bad—the love of a brother or sister. My brother is my best friend, protector, and eternal companion in fraternal community.
A true gift from God, the blessing of sibling connection was realized in fullness for the Johnson family this year at a local Catholic school.
Liam, a preschool student at St. Mary Catholic Virtue School in Littleton, has many titles: book lover, expert greeter, endless singer, and, perhaps most importantly, big brother.
Jessica Johnson, Liam’s mother, reflected on their excitement when she and her husband, Chris, learned they were pregnant with Liam’s little sister. “We were so excited: a sibling could be so helpful to Liam! A built-in friend, a model for speech and behavior, and perhaps a protector,” said Jessica. Her husband agreed. Liam needed a sibling.
When Liam’s little sister Hattie was born nine months later, the Johnson family experienced the love and joy that comes from the gift of siblinghood.
Liam and Hattie have a relationship like most siblings—they love to play; they get on each other’s nerves; they have unique and personal forms of communication only known to them; they compete, laugh, and live a shared experience as siblings that will bond them for life.
What wasn’t always a given for Liam and Hattie, however, was attending Catholic school together. Liam has Down syndrome, and when he was born, his parents weren’t sure that he would be able to attend Catholic school like they had as children.
Almost immediately after Liam was born, Jessica got to work, ensuring pathways to Catholic education were possible for him and any future children. Jessica, along with Dr. Eve Langston and Dr. Jill Hall, founded the FIRE Foundation of Denver in 2021 to ensure children with disabilities are welcomed, supported, and valued at their local Catholic schools.
Liam began attending St. Mary Catholic Virtue School’s preschool in the 2023-2024 school year, where he grew in faith, knowledge, and friendship alongside his typically developing peers.
However, it wasn’t until recently that Liam experienced one of the other great joys of inclusion – learning and growing side-by-side with his sister, Hattie.
When Hattie started preschool at St. Mary this year, Jessica attended her first all-school Mass.
“It wasn’t even five minutes, and I heard it: Hattie’s cry,” said Johnson. “Oh no, here we go. Over the next few minutes, I could make out her cries, and just as I could barely stand it anymore, they stopped.” After Mass, students began filtering out of the building, returning to their studies across the St. Mary campus.
Johnson went to catch a glimpse of her daughter to ensure all was well with her little one.
“I hid in the back, like the sane and reasonable mom I am, just to catch a glimpse of her. I watched as her teachers lined up her class before the altar to genuflect, but Hattie was nowhere in sight,” said Johnson.
Her heart sank, and her mind began to fill with fear. It was her first time at Mass with her classmates, and she was so disruptive that she had to be removed. That’s why her tears stopped echoing back to her mother—not because they ceased but because her daughter wasn’t in the church anymore.
She raced to her teacher, Mrs. Dotson, and asked what had happened and where they had sent her. Mrs. Dotson, without missing a beat, smiled and said, “Oh yeah, she was having a tough time, so we let her sit by her brother, and then she did great.”
It was a defining moment for Johnson and her understanding of her children’s relationship.
“It was one of those moments I will never forget. Not because I burst into tears in the back of the church in front of the other parents, but because I realized that Hattie needs Liam just as much if not more than he needs her. And without St. Mary’s openness to inclusion, without the work of FIRE Denver, this moment wouldn’t have been possible – Liam couldn’t have been her protector that day,” said Johnson.
It’s no coincidence that this defining moment for the Johnson family occurred at the Mass, in the presence of Christ himself. In this moment, where Heaven meets Earth, where we have the opportunity to witness the source and summit of our faith, Liam and Hattie embodied God’s plan for siblinghood—companions for the good and for the journey towards Christ.
That day, Liam showed Hattie a love that can only be known through the kind of love that Christ shows us. Liam became Hattie’s protector and provided the comfort only a big brother could give his little sister.
I am often asked why FIRE Denver does the work we do. Why not support public schools where there are more resources and more developed programs? Why not create inclusive Catholic magnet schools where students with disabilities can go and pool resources more directly?
While these questions are valid, they miss the true intention of this work—to ensure Catholic schools can be a true extension of the parish and serve every member of their community, to ensure the entirety of the Body of Christ may come to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ, and to ensure that the graces and fruits of every child may be a gift to others in the Church’s charter for education.
And we know this works. Just look at Liam and Hattie. Inclusive Catholic education ensures our children do not miss out on pivotal moments of childhood, pivotal moments to love your neighbor as yourself.
As more students and families come to know the goodness of Catholic education through embracing all of God’s children in our Catholic schools, we witness the power of the Holy Spirit providing the gifts needed to become who God made us to be.
The inclusion of children with disabilities engulfs us with the FIRE of the Holy Spirit, igniting a vision of Catholic education for the entire family. And thank God for that!
