After creating two outdoor classrooms for students and teachers to use at Pope John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School (PJP II) in West Brandywine, Lizzie Heinz has now created a Rosary Walk at the school as her Eagle Scout service project.

The walk features a path where students may pray the Rosary outdoors by following a series of signs that depict the Mysteries of the Rosary, which are important moments in the life of Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary.

The Rosary Walk was dedicated on Oct. 17 by the Rev. Michael Fitzpatrick, pastor of St. Peter Parish, who blessed each sign on the walk with Holy Water. He also led those attendance in several prayers and provided a blessing: "God bless (Lizzie) and those who use this symbol of prayer and of the Blessed Mother."

The Rosary consists of beads in groups of 10 (decades), and people recite the Hail Mary while holding each small bead. On the larger beads separating the decades, different prayers are said, and there are particular Mysteries associated with each decade.

Currently, the Mysteries depicted on the signs at PJP II are from the Joyful Mysteries, and the signs include images of the Nativity and the Presentation, when Jesus was taken to the temple. Other mysteries are the Glorious Mysteries, which include the Assumption of Mary into heaven, and the Luminous Mysteries, which include events such as Christ's baptism. Lizzie noted that the boxes were constructed so that photos from each of the Mysteries could be interchanged.

The Rosary Walk also includes an introductory sign and a prayer box at the end. "The kids can write or draw on a piece of paper what they want to pray for," Lizzie said.

In addition, Lizzie created a pamphlet that explains the Mysteries and presented each PJP II student with his or her own Rosary to use on the Rosary Walk.

Lizzie is a member of Scouts BSA Troop 611, which meets at Hibernia United Methodist Church. She previously completed the outdoor classrooms to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award.

"They allowed girls to join (Boy Scouts, now Scouts BSA) a few years ago and just last year I found a troop that I wanted to join," she explained. "When I did the outdoor classroom, Mrs. (Patricia) Tarquinio, the vice principal, mentioned that if I had any more projects that I wanted to do, she had things that I could do."

Lizzie completed the project with the help of family members and fellow Scouts. "The (photos) were specially printed for this and we cut the wood, sanded it and put (the signs) together," she said, noting the lumber was donated by Home Depot in Parkesburg.

She wanted the project to be dedicated in October, which is traditionally observed by Catholics as the Month of the Holy Rosary.

Lizzie is currently working on the final paperwork for her project and plans to have her Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony in December.