At that time, Juan Diego Catholic High School was percolating in the head of Sam Skaggs, the local philanthropist who funded construction of the campus in Draper and whose admiration for Mother Teresa would eventually result in Monday's unveiling ceremony.

Principal Gailey Colosimo said Skaggs' daughter worked in conjunction with the school to commission a statue of Mother Teresa, which was sculpted by New Mexico artist Betty Sabo. She used Schaefer's book as part of her inspiration for the work.

Sabo and Schaefer were photographed with the statue after Monday's assembly, and Colosimo said he hopes their stories — as well as Mother Teresa's life — will help students understand the importance of service.

"We require 25 hours of service each year, from ninth grade on, with various nonprofit groups," he said. Though all of the students are too young to actually remember Mother Teresa, Colosimo said theology teachers have spent the past couple of weeks teaching students about her life.

"We've found students complete the service requirement here, but often they don't really know why. We want them to begin to reflect more seriously on how service is the foundation of our Christian values."

To help inspire that reflection, the statue will be permanently placed in a grotto between the high school and the nearby elementary school, he said.

"Iconography has been part of the Catholic playbook for centuries. We hope to continue to using it to teach Christian values."

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com