From the Principal
John XXIII College
The Season of Creation, which commenced on 1 September, concludes on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi in early October. It was Pope Francis who introduced this celebration to emphasise that respect for our environment is central to Christian faith and not simply a political choice.
As we know, Pope Leo XVI declared 2026 to be the Jubilee Year of St Francis in the hope that communities would rediscover the teaching of St Francis. In the Christian tradition, St Francis has long been the model of a commitment to simple living and of attention to nature. When considering St Francis of Assisi and his calling of creatures, no matter how small, by the name of ‘brother’ or ‘sister’, Pope Francis wrote ‘such a conviction cannot be written off as naive romanticism, for it affects the choices which determine our behaviour. If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs.’ (Laudato Si’, paragraph 11)
The theme of the Season of Creation this year is living waters. In his great poem The Canticle of the Sun, St Francis speaks of water as useful, earthy, precious and pure.
So, it is with this in mind that we celebrate the Season of Creation and are encouraged to delight in the beauty and delicacy of our natural world, or as Pope Francis wrote, ‘…That is why it is no longer enough to speak only of the integrity of ecosystems. We have to dare to speak of the integrity of human life, of the need to promote and unify all the great values. Once we lose our humility, and become enthralled with the possibility of limitless mastery over everything, we inevitably end up harming society and the environment.’ (Laudato Si’, paragraph 224)
Finally, I commend our Year 11 students for their engagement in the leadership process currently underway in the Secondary School. It takes real courage to lean into the challenge of being called to leadership and the number of those courageous enough to accept this challenge is heartening. Thank you also to those able to attend this morning’s Fathers’ Day Mass and I hope all fathers and fatherly figures are suitably spoiled on Sunday.
Daniel Mahon
Principal