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Schools Celebrate the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop

 

The Diocese of Broken Bay had a strong presence in St Peter’s Square, Rome for the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop on 17 October.   The group led by Br Tony Whelan, Director of Schools included seventeen students (St Joseph’s Catholic College, East Gosford and MacKillop Catholic College, Warnervale), four teachers and three principals.   The group were also priviledged to attend the first Mass of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop at Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome the day after the Canonisation.

The students shared their accounts and photos with their families and schools through specially set up blogs.  All of the students were incredibly moved by the once in a lifetime experience of witnessing the canonisation of Australia’s first Catholic saint.

Many Broken Bay schools celebrated liturgies on the Friday before the Canonisation. Some children dressed in period costume from when Mary was alive; others had a Sister of St Joseph as an honoured guest for the day. St Cecilia’s Catholic School at Wyong, founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1916, hosted a ‘MacKillop Day’ prior to the Canonisation. Each grade presented to the school some aspect of Mary’s life and the work of the Sisters, ranging from Mary’s childhood, the history of the school through the great work of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, through to how the spirit of Mary MacKillop is alive today.

At MacKillop Catholic College, Warnervale the secondary school students were encouraged to enter an Art Competition involving a portrait of Mary MacKillop or a digital media production of the same. Students conducted a debate on the topic ‘Mary MacKillop – Saint or Rebel’, and there were also performances by members of the school’s Drama Group. In the week prior to the Canonisation, spiritual preparation involved daily prayer and liturgy, culminating in a whole school Mass celebration.