From the Principal

Dear Parents/Carers

A very warm welcome back to Term 4! To our Mount Alvernia College students, parents/carers and staff, I hope that you have had a time of rejuvenation as well as enjoying time together with your families or at the very least, I hope that a slightly gentler pace was available to those who were not able to take leave from work.

As you will recall me mentioning in the final newsletter, I had the enormous privilege of travelling on pilgrimage these holidays alongside 17 senior members of our Mercy Partners ministries. A combinator of Directors, Principals and Senior members of Mater all joined together in our; Franciscan, Presentation and Mercy charisms to follow in the footsteps of our founders. This pilgrimage was a deeply formational and spiritual experience for me and having only arrived back this morning (Thursday), I suspect that there will be much to reflect upon and process in the days and weeks that lie ahead. 

Our first evening and day was a magical one, following a solo day and night in Rome we commenced our journey together in La Verna (our namesake Mount Alvernia) Francis came to La Verna many times for solitude and on his last visit in September 1224 he received the stigmata – the marks of the crucified Christ. It was said that St Francis’ soul was so afire with the love of Christ that the whole mountain lit up as if it was burning. The serenity of this sanctuary is like no other and it is easy to appreciate the connection with the natural environment that St Francis would have experienced here almost 800 years ago. 

La Verna, September 2023

Meandering our way back through the Spoleto valley and past the neighbouring towns of Gubbio we then arrived in Assisi.

For almost 4 days (this requires an entire blog of its own!), we took time to visit, share reflections and undertake sacred rituals together in the  spaces of – San Damiano Church, The Basilica of St Mary of the Angels, Basilica di San Francesco, Santa Chiara, San Rufino and of course the magnificent Basilica di San Francesco, which not only houses the tomb of St Francis, but contains the breathtaking frescoes of the life of St Francis, painted by Giotto. The town of Assisi has a way of transporting you back in time and it is not difficult to imagine St Francis and St Clare gracing the ancient pathways. This felt particularly strong in the gardens outside of San Damiano, where St Francis is thought to have composed his Canticle of the Creatures – an ode which articulates so beautifully, St Francis’ personal theology of brotherhood and care for creation. It is also regarded by some scholars to be the first piece of Italian ‘literature’. 

Assisi, September 2023

Our pilgrimage then took us to the narrow, cobblestoned (and very wet) streets of County Cork, Ireland where we were immersed in the life and work of Nano Nagle and the Presentation Sisters. We then travelled to Dublin, where we spent 4 days deepening our understanding of Catherine McAuley and the Mercy charism staying at their convent on Baggot Street. The boldness and sheer courage of both Nano and Catherine in the 18th and 19th centuries to educate and protect the most needy and vulnerable, risking their lives to do so, is truly humbling and inspiring. 

Dublin, Ballygriffin, and St Brigid’s Well, Kildare

In Dublin I also had the great privilege of visiting one of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception who is now living in an aged care facility – Sr Anna Mary Hannon. Sr Anna Mary spoke of her faith filled life and the wonderful work she had undertaken over the years in Cairo, South America and the UK. She had also spent a short time in Kedron many years ago and spoke of her time on the hill very fondly. Sr Anna Mary sends her regards to the entire Mount Alvernia Community!

For our final day of pilgrimage, we visited a truly magical place where the veil between worlds is very thin indeed – Glendalough, County Wicklow. In addition to the staggering natural landscapes, enveloped within the valley is the site of one of the earliest Monastic settlements dating back to the 6th Century. I don’t think I have ever seen a greener place on earth in my life – truly a natural wonder where the spirit resides in every rock, tree and stream. God is everywhere in Glendalough!

At the commencement of our pilgrimage our facilitators from Mercy Partners, Dr Caroline Johnson and Libby Blom shared with the group John O’Donohue’s Poem “For the Traveller”…….in the fourth last stanza it states:

When you travel, 

A new silence 

Goes with you, 

And if you listen, 

You will hear 

What your heart would 

Love to say.

In these moments of silence, my heart reminded me of the blessings that I enjoy every day leading a school that continues to honour its spirituality and history in a way that is authentic, contemporary, and responsive to the needs of the day. I look forward to diving further into many of my experiences with the students and staff over the coming months. I think at the end of the day, my heart is telling me it is very full!

Thank you to Mercy Partners for facilitating this exceptional rich and formative experience and to my wonderful team (CLT) who looked after everything in my absence.

Peace and all good,

Samantha Jensen

Principal