MLK Model of Justice honoree seeks to continue Dr. King’s legacy as an advocate for others

Jacob Wiegand | jacobwiegand@archstl.org Villa Duchesne senior Caty Jane Hayes is one of the recipients of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Model of Justice Award. Caty Jane says that recognizing God in every person is how she brings Christ to our blessed and broken world.

Caty Jane Hayes, senior at Villa Duchesne, among 26 teens to be honored at MLK Mass

Laura Kosta

Submitted on January 15, 2024

As part of her senior theology class at Villa Duchesne, Caty Jane Hayes is working to answer the question: How will you bring Christ to our blessed and broken world?

She sums her answer up simply: by recognizing God in every person.

“God made us in His likeness and image. And I just feel so connected to people. I love people,” she said. “That’s where I feel most with God, when I’m with other people.”

Caty Jane is among 26 teens from Catholic parishes and high schools in the archdiocese who will be honored with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Model of Justice Award at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. The awards ceremony is a highlight of the 48th annual Mass for the Preservation of Peace and Justice, which commemorates King’s birth and legacy. The Mass and awards ceremony is organized by the St. Charles Lwanga Center, the archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministries.

Caty Jane’s desire to connect with and recognize the dignity of people of all backgrounds has been inspired by service learning trips and pilgrimages over the past two years. In 2022, she traveled to New Orleans on a Network of Sacred Heart Schools trip focused on learning about homelessness. Later that year, she spent time at the southern border on the Archdiocese of St. Louis’ Solidarity at the Border pilgrimage, where she met families seeking asylum. And in 2023, she participated in a service learning trip to the Pacific Northwest focused on Indigenous communities and environmental justice.

One afternoon in New Orleans, the group of students accompanied a resident of the local Catholic Worker house to distribute sandwiches to people who were living under a highway overpass.

“It was one woman’s birthday, and the Catholic Worker leader who went with us remembered that it was her birthday,” Caty Jane said. It was special to be able to celebrate with her and make that human connection, she added.

Inspired by that trip, she chose to use her junior year social action project to examine access to federal housing vouchers and the obstacles people who are unhoused face in St. Louis.

“Before I went to New Orleans, I didn’t really understand the whole concept of houselessness, and I always had this sort of subconscious thought about people who are houseless, if I’m being honest,” she said. “And then I went and I saw the people and talked to the people and met with them, and my mind changed. My heart changed. I was like: These people are just people. They’re human beings.”

“And that’s what I’ve gotten from all these trips: We’re all human beings at the end of the day, and we all deserve the best,” she continued.

Part of being an advocate for justice means appreciating the diverse people she encounters throughout St. Louis, recognizing the different gifts and experiences that each person holds, said Caty Jane, a parishioner at Our Lady of Sorrows in south St. Louis. At Villa Duchesne, she lives that out while leading retreats for underclassmen, helping them to know God’s love more fully in their lives.

In her letter nominating Caty Jane for the award, Villa Duchesne upper school campus minister Jen MacArthur noted a particular quote from King: “It will give you a rare sense of nobility that can only spring from love and selflessly helping your fellow (person). Make a career of humanity.”

Caty Jane hopes to continue King’s legacy by being a woman for others, she said.

“He advocated for what he knew to be wrong and right,” she said. “I want to advocate for people who maybe can’t speak for themselves, or who don’t have an opportunity to speak up for themselves.”