19 March 2024

Honouring the Sisters of Mercy, the Coolock Learning Centre was blessed and opened at Padua College, Mornington.

‘What a brilliant facility to welcome the newly minted students of Year 7 and to enable the Year 8 students to consolidate their learning in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths’, said Bishop Anthony Ireland.

The centre takes its name from Coolock House in Dublin, Ireland. Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, inherited Coolock House and used the funds from its sale to further the mission of the order.

‘Catherine McAuley’s vision for education and schools was not solely focused on imparting techniques and knowledge, but it was about empowering young people to engage with the realities of their lives, and empowering them with the readiness to embrace their world with a sense of freedom and responsibility’, said Principal Kelly McGurn. ‘It is this vision that has been woven into the fabric of the Coolock Learning Centre.’

The opening ceremony was attended by members of the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) board and executive leadership team, as well as friends and supporters of the college, with music provided by the Music in the Spirit class.

‘The Coolock Learning Centre is a place of kindness and opportunity’, said Bishop Anthony. ‘As your school song says: we carry on the Mercy way, we’ll change the world.’