MISSION CENTRAL

 From the Student Representative Council  

Matthew Williams 

Clean up Cairns

Clean Up Cairns is an SRC initiative with the aim of helping our local community by contributing to a cleaner future. We held our second Clean Up Cairns event on Wednesday 28 May involving 22 students. They helped pick up 25 bags of cigarette butts, empty cans and bottles, some pink Crocs and other rubbish from the wharf and working up to the lagoon and back. This is a great result, and we will be looking to host another clean up next term. 

Student Voice Forum 

The SRC participated in the CEDC Student Voice Forum on 3 June. During the day, students shared their opinions on topics within Catholic schools, such as teaching, religion classes and Catholic identity. The day also reminded us of the significance of maintaining the Marist characteristics. We need to live out the Marist charism to stay Marist Catholics. The Brothers have modelled this for us for 95 years which will end in November, then it will be completely up to us! I am confident that we know how and we will be able to carry this on! 

Service Report

 Finn Slade 

Ride for Rosies

I am delighted to share some updates about our recent and upcoming community efforts. As you receive this newsletter, St Augustine's and St Monica’s students will have hosted the Ride for Rosies event at the Cairns Velodrome. There, 70 enthusiastic riders cycled for two hours this afternoon to raise awareness of and funds for the Rosies charity. 

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community and the continuous fundraising of students, we have raised over $17,000, a significant amount that will be directly invested back into the Cairns community to assist those who are facing tough times.

Rosies

I sincerely thank the Year 11 and Year 12 students who took part in Rosies last Sunday. without the school volunteers this charity would struggle to maintain its outreach. Last weekend there were only two volunteers other than our school group. Please consider helping out if you can. 

Red Shield Appeal

On Sunday 25 May, 32 dedicated boys participated in the annual Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal Door Knock throughout Brinsmead. Their commitment and hard work enabled us to collect $2000 from local households, and these funds will be used by the Salvos to support vital initiatives such as providing housing and essential services for people experiencing homelessness. 

Relay for Life

Also, I thank all the boys who signed on for Relay for Life which will be held on 2 August.

A Teen’s Inspiring Italian Pilgrimage 

Gianni Iacovella, Year 9

My trip to Rome was something words simply can’t describe. I was part of 15 staff and students from across Cairns schools and parishes, where we would embark on a journey through the heart of Italy on a pilgrimage. After back-to-back flights, travelling for over 18 hours, with very little sleep, we arrived at our hotel and started on a journey that I could never imagine. The first few days of our pilgrimage we had the privilege of crossing all four Holy doors that are only opened every 25 years, they were St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. We also explored several ancient ruins, tossed coins into the Trevi Fountain, wandered through the Colosseum, walked down the Spanish Steps, and managed to squeeze in some shopping.

Holy Week was extraordinary. At the Lord’s Supper Mass we were lucky to share stories with Fr Charles. At the Veneration of the Cross, my zia (cousin) was lucky enough to place her hand on the cross which contained Relics of Passion. The way of the cross was held outside the Colosseum at night, it was extremely cold, but breathtaking for everyone. The Easter Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Square was a little quiet, however, Easter Sunday Mass was something I will never forget. We were blessed by Pope Francis as he gave his blessings from the balcony. The up close and incredible view that we caught from Pope Francis in his Pope Mobile will forever stay in my heart. Seeing him that day was surreal and was extremely emotional for us, we could see how frail he was, yet he made an appearance to bless us all.

After this once in a lifetime experience, we went to Assisi. I found Assisi to be a beautiful place, I feel it was one of my favourites. Here we visited the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis, who is known as the “millennial saint" and will be the saint of the internet. We were meant to see his canonisation but it was postponed due to the passing of Pope Francis. We also went to Florence, where we saw the Duomo, walked across the Ponte Vecchio and got to see the statue of David.

On our return to Rome, we were greeted by Bishop Joe and got to spend a couple of days with him exploring other parts of Rome. He definitely made a great tour guide and I feel extremely lucky to have been part of this experience. Along the journey, we also met other pilgrims from different parts of the world and got to share stories with one another - they also loved the little Aussie gifts we handed out. 

We returned to Vatican City to witness Pope Francis lying in state peacefully and were blessed to attend his funeral at St Peter’s Square, as hundreds of thousands could not gain access. I must say gaining access was a little confronting, as the crowds were extremely pushy and getting crushed by the huge crowds of people was intense. It was extremely sad, but truly a memorable and honoured experience to be at Pope Francis’s funeral. Then, a couple of days later, we returned to St Mary’s Major to view his resting place. 

What an experience I had. From early mornings to very late nights, to walking many kilometres a day, to waiting in long lines, to sharing pasta dinners, to eating gelato at every opportunity in the freezing cold, to being on the project, ABC and Chanel 9 News, I was on a pilgrimage filled with moments of awe, reverence, and being able to experience this with my zia, past OLHOC friends and new friends. Our long journey home was tiring, we were all welcomed home from our families with huge signs and too many Mum hugs. Jet lag definitely kicked in, I am pretty sure I slept for 10 days straight. A massive thank you to Rachel McLean who organised this experience, all the staff, to Bishop Joe who journeyed with us, and my parents for giving me this opportunity. I will be forever grateful.