Video by: Ms. Barbara Vassallo
Summary of the story told below:
Ms. Vassallo, a teacher at Mount since 1997, tells her story in the recording below about one of her first years as a teacher.
In her religion classroom on the fourth floor, she always lit a candle, symbolizing Jesus being the light of the world. She also did it to bring comfort to students while taking a test, reminding them that Jesus was always with them. Her story begins explaining how on the last period of the day her students were taking a test in the classroom, so she lit the candle. During the class period, a girl in the class got sick, and she needed to call the nurse up to the room. After that, Ms. Vassallo had an appointment and had to leave immediately after.
Somehow, she left the candle lit and forgot to blow it out. The next morning when she went up to her room, she saw that it was very foggy. When she walked in, she smelled the scent of burnt wood and noticed a small hole in her desk where the candle was. She realized that her desk must've caught on fire and put itself out. She noted how she was so thankful to God that she didn't burn the school down and how she often thanks Him for putting out the fire.
Closed Captioning for Recording:
This is Ms. Vassallo. I currently teach in Room 318, and I have been a member of the Mount Saint Charles teaching staff starting in the year 1997. The story I am going to tell you took place in 1999, 2000 or 2001. To my memory, Herve Richer was principal, and I was teaching out of Room 408 on the fourth floor. It was my third or fourth year teaching, and one of the things I did in my religion class was I would always light a candle. I love candles, and I would light it during prayer time. And, every day in our class we would have prayer time. And, when we prayed I would light the candle to remind the students that Jesus is the light of the world, and we are called to be lights to our world. And also to help to remind them that Jesus was with them- that his presence was a reminder that He was with us especially as we prayed together. So I always lit the candle. Sometimes during tests to continue to feel this presence of Jesus in a special way, I would leave the candle lit. One day there was the last period of the day, it was the last period of the day, and students were taking a test in the classroom; and I lit the candle and we prayed. Then I said, "I will leave the candle lit because we are going to be taking our test." And we started the test. During the class period, a girl in the class got ill, and I needed to call the nurse up to the room. The nurse came to get her. I had an appointment immediately after school and had to leave right away. Somehow, I left the candle lit in the classroom and never blew the candle out. The next morning I come up to my room, Room 408, and I peer in, the door had glass in it, so you can see in when the door is closed, just like many of our doors still currently have. I peer in and it looks all foggy in my room. And, I am like, "Wow, it is so foggy in my room, did I leave the windows open and it got foggy during the night and got caught in there or something", I am like, "why is it so foggy in my room?". I walk into the room and open the door and immediately I smell the scent of burnt wood. I look around at my desk and there on my desk, I had an old wooden desk, there was actually a crater that had been burnt. The candle that I had lit was in a little votive glass little urn and it cracked and had begun a fire on my desk. Things had caught on fire and put itself out. On all of the desks there was a little bit of soot. I was extremely lucky that I did not burn down the school. Once I realized what had happened, I ran downstairs and told the principal, and I am honestly not sure if it was Brother Cliff (King) or Herve Richer. I told the school that, you know, that there was a fire in my room. The janitor came up and put a couple of fans in my room, and we opened the windows and by the time the students came in it was barely noticeable. But, I often have very scary dreams about that moment and thank God for the fact that there was not a real, real fire on that day. That is my story.