A childlike heart: Fr. Mel Bessellieu engages children with backpack Sundays

Father Mel Bessellieu, sacramental minister at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish, explains living water on the Third Sunday of Lent, March 7, at the Roanoke church. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)

What does a 35-year-old satchel, a cache of dime store trinkets, and some innovative props have to do with spreading the Gospel message?

The answer is obvious if you have ever attended Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Grapevine or St. Teresa of Calcutta Church in Roanoke on the second Sunday of the month. That’s when Father Mel Bessellieu treats the youngsters in the congregation to a homily designed especially for them.

His invitation, “It’s Backpack Sunday,” spoken after the Gospel, sends dozens of eager children racing up the aisle to find a seat in front of the altar. Once there, they may find Fr. Bessellieu using water-filled squirt guns to explain baptism or a newborn goat to tell the story of the Good Shepherd. At the end of Mass, the young listeners return to the altar to receive their bulletin and a small toy, purchased to reinforce the day’s Scripture and distributed from a backpack the celebrant has used since his seminary days.

Thirteen-year-old Maisie Russell always looked forward to Backpack Sunday when Fr. Bessellieu served St. Francis as parochial vicar.

“In that short period of time, when Fr. Mel calls the kids up, we learn so much,” gushed the eighth grader. “I love it. It’s not just like sitting in a classroom with a teacher. Fr. Mel gets us involved. He makes it fun.”

Her younger brother, Alistair, doesn’t get excited about going to church but he loves Backpack Sunday.

“He zones out during catechesis but when Fr. Mel talks, he listens to every word,” Russell said.
 

Engaging young souls

Fr. Bessellieu began developing the concept for Backpack Sunday when he was pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Pilot Point and perfected the idea while shepherding St. Ann Parish in Burleson from 2007 to 2022.

“I noticed the kids were not fully attentive at Mass because there was nothing to engage them,” explained the Catholic convert who was ordained a priest in 1997. “I thought, ‘What if we set aside one special Sunday a month where the kids could have their own homily and receive a little gift that relates to the Gospel?’”

It was scary at first and Fr. Bessellieu worried he wouldn’t hold the young crowd’s attention.

“But it started to take off. The kids loved it and so did the parents,” he said. “I knew they were learning a lot because I would ask them questions during the homily and the children would answer and give me their thoughts.”

One of the pastor’s more inventive homilies required several cases of bottled water, a clear plexiglass cover, and foam pool noodles. The Gospel that week was about Jesus walking on water.

“When St. Peter walked on water, he took his eyes off Jesus because of the wind,” Fr. Bessellieu explained, recalling how the children had waved pool noodles to represent the wind. “So as I’m walking across the plexiglass on top of the water bottles, the kids were just hammering me with the noodles, but I told them, ‘I didn’t take my eyes off of Jesus!’”

To come up with thought-provoking ideas, the homilist prays to God for inspiration and relies on his optimistic approach to life.

“It helps that I have a childlike mind, too,” chuckled Fr. Bessellieu, who sees a marked increase in Mass attendance on Backpack Sunday. “It’s a joy to know they’re excited about coming to Mass and taking a little kernel of the Gospel with them. That’s great because Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me.’”
 

Reaching the unchurched

Thanks to social media, Backpack Sunday is now reaching more people than just a local parish audience. Many of Fr. Bessellieu’s videos are available on YouTube and can be viewed by families across the country.

He shies away from watching his own recorded homilies but believes the availability of Backpack Sunday allows others to see how children can be a vital part of the Mass.

“The fact that someone gets on YouTube and sees that once a month children get the spotlight sends a very positive message for the Church,” Fr. Bessellieu pointed out. “Children can be a vital part of the Mass. It’s not just for adults. It’s for everyone.”

Pat Morrison helps produce the YouTube videos by raising funds and managing the organizational details of the project.

“We’re not only reaching kids that go to church, but we’re also hoping to reach children who don’t have a church experience,” the St. Francis parishioner suggested. “Being on YouTube gives us a broader audience. People everywhere can access the Backpack Sunday homilies and let their children see the excitement and truth of our faith.”

Fr. Bessellieu, who is now the sacramental minister at St. Teresa of Calcutta, plans to continue his backpack outreach until retirement. Every Sunday gathering with the children is an epiphany and the questions they ask during his talk always amaze him. Adults are also learning something.

“Jesus tells us in order to understand the Gospel you have to have a childlike heart,” he said. “When adults see children are understanding a Gospel passage because they’re seeing it through a child’s eyes, it speaks volumes. You can’t get into heaven unless you become like a child.”