Siena Ridolfo, written by Marie Ridolfo
Siena Rose Ridolfo was welcomed into St. Paul’s community of faith the day after she was born. Rev. Kathleen Gannon came to the hospital, held baby Siena, then blessed her. Six months later, she was baptized at St. Paul’s, co-administered by Rev. Kathleen and her grandfather, Fr. James Considine, a retired Episcopal priest. Siena spent many Sunday mornings in the nursery with Miss Erica, and when she was old enough, she attended St. Paul’s Day School. Siena is now eight years old and is a second grader at Plumosa School of the Arts, where she is enrolled in the Spanish dual-language program. She attends Church School regularly and participates in the Youth Choir. For the “This is My Story” subject, I chose to interview Siena because I wanted to add a child’s unique perspective to the series. Perhaps the most important spiritual transformations happen early in life…
Q: What has St. Paul’s Church done for you?
Siena: They helped me learn religion and what I should believe. They taught me that Jesus is very important because He did a lot of stuff for us.
Q: Like what?
Siena: He walked around the world and healed a lot of people. He baptized people and He helped us learn more about what is good and what isn’t good. I really appreciate it, because if He didn’t tell us, I probably wouldn’t even be Christian. And I love being Christian.
Q: Why do you love being Christian?
Siena: Because there is a lot of fun stuff: Church School, learning about Jesus, singing.
Q: What’s your favorite part about St. Paul’s?
Siena: SINGING! I like singing because I am in the Youth Choir at St. Paul’s. I love to sing in different languages.
Siena warming up for Youth Choir
Q: Do you think you will continue to go to St. Paul’s?
Siena: Definitely! Until….. I don’t know…. I might go there forever!
Q: Tell me one thing you learned at St. Paul’s Day School.
Siena: I learned to always be kind and no matter how people treat you, treat them nicely.
I feel I need to mention that I interviewed Siena on the evening of February 14, 2018. Ash Wednesday, Valentine’s Day, and also the day of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, which Siena’s former babysitter had attended several years ago. The day’s events were weighing heavily upon me as I was “interviewing” my daughter. I had just read a news report that said the shooter had often stated “how tired he was of everyone picking on him and the staff doing nothing about it.” It is my belief that when these tragedies repeatedly occur, that each perpetrator has unique circumstances that drive him or her to commit these acts of violence. But in nearly every case, there is a combination of mental health problems and access to automatic assault weapons.
Time and time again we hear words to describe these individuals: weird, loner, outsider. There are warning signs, but we rely on government officials to act. We want to expel, reject, ostracize, do anything we can to separate ourselves and families from them, thereby ignoring the underlying causes of the person’s behavior. While I’m not certain if the day will ever come when our country can agree on a solution, I think we can all agree on another response, one that is continually being broadcasted from St. Paul’s. Do you know what it is? Siena does: “always be kind and no matter how people treat you, treat them nicely.” I can’t help but wonder that if this young man had been made to feel loved and accepted by his peers, instead of being picked on, there could have been another outcome. Instead of being expelled, what if someone reached out with compassion and helped him get the psychological care he clearly needed? We are eager to lay the blame on others, but are hesitant to look at ourselves, our families, our children, and ask: “What can I do today to help prevent yet another tragedy?”
Siena as Mary in Nativity Pageant
I am blessed to have St. Paul’s Church and the Day School be a part of Siena’s formation. It is hard enough to raise a child in today’s world, I need all the support I can get to help my child unravel and make sense of the world around her. Maybe one day she will have a classmate that is struggling, and maybe it is one small act of kindness that could turn that person around. St. Paul’s has been her anchor of faith, the message being told to her in ways she can understand: through playing, hearing stories about Jesus, and singing in harmony. She hears the message loud and clear: Kindness matters!
The Ridolfo Family: Brian, Siena, & Marie
Siena’s Baptism
Leading the procession to Day School Chapel