21 March 2023

Friday’s Catholic Education Week celebrations featured a series of special events to coincide with St Patrick’s Day.

Thousands of students, teachers and dignitaries attended the annual Mass of St Patrick for Schools at St Patrick’s Cathedral. With help from singers from Avila College, Mount Waverley, and altar servers from Simonds Catholic College, West Melbourne, the Mass further reinforced this year’s theme: ‘Forming lives of faith, hope and love in the light of Christ’.

In his homily, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli reflected on the early life of St Patrick, who was taken into slavery at the age of 16. ‘His journey from that age gradually unfolded for him, but it is important that we acknowledge that he did not know what was coming, where it would lead’, said the Archbishop. ‘What Patrick did at 16 was to say yes to God and to place his trust in him.’

As well as welcoming our newest school, Mary Queen of Heaven Primary School, Greenvale, the Mass was a special opportunity to recognise a number of schools that have reached significant milestones:

• Clairvaux Catholic School, Belmont: 25 years
• St Peter Apostle School, Hoppers Crossing: 50 years
• St Therese’s School, Essendon: 100 years
• St Macartan’s School, Mornington, and Padua College, Mornington: 125 years
• St Finbar’s School, Brighton East: 175 years.

Following the Mass, our primary school students enjoyed the first Concert in the Park since 2019, with performances by students from Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, Braybrook, Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs, Caroline Springs, Emmanuel College, Altona North, and Thomas Carr College, Tarneit. For our secondary school students, the Young Speakers Colloquium at the Catholic Leadership Centre featured a presentation by Fr Rob Galea.