Catholic Identity & Mission News
Pope Francis - A change of Era
This weekend, the Church will celebrate the 8th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis to the papacy. Born and raised in Argentina, he had formerly been known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio before he took on the Papal name of ‘Francis’ after St Francis of Assisi (one of our House Patrons here at St. Peter’s College).
Pope Francis is a beacon of integrity, Christian love and hope in our time. It was noted last year during the pandemic, how many people, Catholic and non-Catholic, turned to him for authentic leadership at times of confusion or conflict. At St. Peter’s College, we feel a special connection to his papacy because our College patron St Peter, was the first Pope. Each week on the student bulletin, we share a ‘Pope Francis Tweet of the Week’ – just a short message of inspiration, or call to action, to remind us of God’s infinite love for us, and the call that we should love our neighbours as ourselves.
Pope Francis is a realist about the challenges facing our world today, including those of the Church. He has described our time not as an ‘era of change’, but as a ‘change of era’. We feel this change in Catholic education which is why our ‘Enhancing Catholic School Identity Survey’ is so important to us. We cannot rely on the ‘certainties’ of the past and must be faithful to our Mission as a Catholic school, and work to meet the needs of our students, their families and other stakeholders in the College. Most staff, and many students have now completed the surveys and I hope that parents too have taken up the opportunity to guide our work going forward by providing feedback about what we do, and what your ‘ideal school’ would do. The survey closes in the coming fortnight so if you haven’t yet had a chance to complete it, please would you take the time to do so?
Re-Commencing Mass
We are delighted that, thanks to the generosity and service of our College chaplains - Fr Denis, Fr Joseph and Fr Stanly - that we have been able to re-commence masses on campus for student and staff. Due to COVID restrictions, we hadn’t been able to celebrate these for over 12 months and while they may take a little while to get back into full swing, some students have already embraced the opportunity to celebrate the sacrament on campus on a Thursday morning. Mass at Clyde North is offered on a Thursday in week 1 of the timetable, and in the Cranbourne Chapel on Thursday in week 2. While there will be ‘interruptions’ to the schedule due to House Masses – the first one celebrating St Oscar Romero on March 18 – there will be plenty of opportunities for students to enjoy this St. Peter’s College tradition throughout the year.
Project Compassion
Finally, we are only three weeks out from Easter and our Project Compassion awareness and fundraising campaign is running ‘full steam ahead’! Weekly notices in the SPACE bulletin have reminded us of the genuine needs in our world, and have given us the opportunity to be grateful for the living standards we too often take for granted. We stand in solidarity with those in need in both Australia and overseas, and students and staff have found creative ways in which to fundraise for them (and next week I will be driving a much cleaner car to prove it!). Thank you to all for the support so far, let’s do a final push so that we can help Caritas help those who need it most. Donations can be made here:
Media Internship Program
Applications are now open for Australian Catholics media internship program for 2021. Now in its tenth year, the program gives Year 10 and 11 students across the country an exciting introduction to a career in the media.
The week-long program, from 10 to 14 May, offers secondary school students a valuable opportunity to engage with industry leaders, deepen their understanding of the media, build skills, and produce an edition of the largest circulation Catholic print publication in the country. Successful applicants form the guest editorial team for the Spring edition of Australian Catholics and work with staff to plan, workshop and write articles for that edition.
The internship program will again be delivered online this year.
Applications for this year’s program close on Monday, 15 March 2021 at 5pm.
For further information, and details on how to apply, please see or email Miss Fiona McKenna at
Young Voices Award
Australian Catholics Young Voices Award is open to all students around the country, having evolved from the Young Journalist Award, run through the magazine for the past 25 years. The Awards this year expand to recognise a wider range of media including poetry, photography, video and audio as well as written-form journalism.
Sponsored by long-time YJA sponsor Australian Catholic University (ACU), the Awards give primary and secondary schools students around the country a voice - and the opportunity to be published in the largest circulation Catholic print publication in the country. Winning entries also feature on Australian Catholics digital channels.
Entries close on Friday, 28 May 2021 at 5pm.
For further information, and details on how to apply, please see or email Miss Fiona McKenna at
Fiona McKenna
Deputy Principal - Catholic Identity & Mission