By Gladys Oster Advancement Associate FIRE Foundation of Denver
It’s early in the morning at St. Mary’s Catholic Virtue School in Littleton, and students pour out of cars and chatter as they head off to class. But one student pauses before rushing off to her next task.
Anna Langston, a first grader, stops every day to pray before the statue of St. Joseph outside of her school. She squats or kneels before him and silently speaks to the Diligent Protector of Christ. After a few moments, she happily makes the sign of the cross and runs off to class, with the Light of Patriarchs by her side and in her heart.
Recently, Anna has even taken up the routine of kneeling in front of the Mary statue in the lobby of her school between passing periods. Though this can sometimes make changing classes difficult, her peers and teachers know that this is just what Anna does. Just as Anna learns from her teachers and friends, so, too, they learn deep love and joy from Anna.
“She has very deep reverence and almost can't stop herself from kneeling and praying,” said Dr. Eve Langston, Anna’s mom and a founding board member of FIRE Foundation of Denver.
But that devoted witness wouldn’t have been made possible if not for her mom’s work to usher inclusion into Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Denver, work that earned her the inaugural Langston Leadership Award in February 2025.
When Dr. Langston received the news of Anna’s diagnosis, she thought back to her own sister, Elizabeth, who also has Down syndrome and was unable to attend Catholic schools with her siblings. When Anna was born, Dr. Langston immediately started researching how to get Anna into a Catholic school and discovered the FIRE Foundation in Kansas City, MO. In 2021, along with Jessica Johnson and Dr. Jill Hall, Dr. Langston co-founded the FIRE Foundation of Denver and served as the board president from 2021-2024.
For Dr. Langston, though, one of her greatest accomplishments is ensuring the Catholic education of her own daughter, Anna.
Surrounded by the faith, Anna has come to love St. Joseph and Mother Mary as two of her best friends. In her short time at St. Mary’s, she’s made many friends among her fellow students and has received abundant fruits from these Christ-centered relationships. Just as St. Joseph drew together and protected the Holy Family, he remains a powerful intercessor in the work of inclusive Catholic education, where he brings and keeps all families and friends together in the same Catholic community.
In a divine coincidence, we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph just days before World Down Syndrome Day and amid Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, looking to the Pillar of Families as we remember our most vulnerable populations, who have a special place in the Holy Family and in the Body of Christ, the Church.
While very little is known about Anna’s best friend from the Scriptures, St. Joseph is described simply as a “just man” (Matthew 1:19), “righteous” in his recognition of each’s human dignity as beloved children of God. To protect his vulnerable wife and son, though he could have rejected and abandoned them long before taking Mary into his own home, he followed God even when it put him in uncomfortable living quarters, put his life in danger or drove him away from all he knew.
In short, St. Joseph kept the living, breathing Word of God alive in his baby son, Jesus.
Like him, we, too, are called to keep the Word alive and flourishing in all peoples, regardless of their ability.
In 1999, the USCCB released a statement on “Welcome and Justice for Persons with Disabilities”. There, they outline the true vision of disabled persons within our Catholic Church, writing,
“Our defense of life and rejection of the culture of death requires that we acknowledge the dignity and positive contributions of our brothers and sisters with disabilities… Defense of the right to life implies the defense of all other rights that enable the individual with the disability to achieve the fullest measure of personal development of which he or she is capable. These include the right to equal opportunity in education, in employment, in housing, and in health care...” (Par 3-4).
Inclusive Catholic education allows Anna and others to receive and spread the Gospel message as living witnesses to the joy of following Christ.
As the Church celebrates St. Joseph and takes a brief respite from Lenten fasts, let us remember the image of sweet Anna before his statue, seeing him as a friend who gives perfect guidance and protection.
May we, like Joseph, be most just in everything we do, remembering and caring for the marginalized who deserve to know Jesus as intimately as we do.
