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Schools Celebrate the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop

 

Excitement is building in Broken Bay schools for the canonisation of Mary MacKillop with a group led by Bishop David Walker and Br Tony Whelan, Director of Schools travelling to Rome.  Seventeen students (St Joseph’s Catholic College, East Gosford and MacKillop Catholic College, Warnervale), four teachers and three principals are also representing the Diocese of Broken Bay in Rome to witness the historic event.  

A number of schools across the diocese from Kindergarten to Year 6 have been learning about Mary MacKillop through specially devised units of work focusing on scripture and a ‘saying’ attributed to Mary MacKillop.

Many schools are celebrating liturgies on the Friday before the Canonisation. Some children are dressing in period costume from when Mary was alive; others are having 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, are hosting a ‘MacKillop Day’ prior to the canonisation. Each grade are presenting 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 are being encouraged to enter an Art Competition involving a portrait of Mary MacKillop or a digital media production of the same. Students will conduct a debate on the topic ‘Mary MacKillop – Saint or Rebel’, and there will also be a performance by members of the school’s Drama Group. In the week prior to the Canonisation, spiritual preparation will involve daily prayer and liturgy, culminating in a whole school Mass celebration on Friday 15 October.

Photo label: Off to Rome from MacKillop Catholic College Warnervale Front Row: Jackson Bonner, Stephen Aitken (Principal), Zoe Myler and Kelly Paget.  Back Row: Alex Wareham, Debra Ferguson (Deputy Principal), Sr Marea Ross and Clair Delvin.