Mission and Identity

• Welcome Mass
• Commencement Mass
• Staff Welcome Mass
• Youth Masses for 2025
• The Cross Project
• Year 7 Formation Day - 'Through the window Mr Rice'

Welcome Mass

Thank you to all the parents and students who joined us for the Welcome Evening celebrations that commenced with a Welcome Mass for all Year 5, 6 and 7 students and their families, as well as new students in Years 8-12. 

We were delighted to see Our Lady of Dolours bursting at the seams with smiling faces and open hearts. We look forward to journeying with you as pilgrims of hope as we continue our journey of faith and learning together.

Commencement Mass - Parents invited

Parents are warmly invited to join us for the College Commencement Mass which will take place at Oxford Falls in the Christian Brothers Centre on Wednesday 12 February. The Mass will commence at 10:00 am. Parents are invited to join us following the Mass for refreshments. Please RSVP via the link below:

Staff Welcome Mass

'These are the stories which must ignite us, bringing us together rather than dividing us,' Fr David Ranson.  Our first act as staff returning to the College was to gather as a family of faith and to celebrate the Eucharist. Fifteen new members of that family were anointed and commissioned for their mission to be the hands and feet of Christ, bearers of light and pilgrims of hope in this holy year of Jubilee.

Our theme for this year ‘Unite to Ignite’ draws on 1 John 1:7, and challenges us to be united in a common cause to be signs of hope for others and instruments of healing.

It calls us to seek to ignite the hearts of one another with the message of God’s unconditional love.

Fr David Ranson in his homily drew on these themes and challenged us to resist the social mechanics which seek to divide and tear at the precious social fabric of shared humanity - ‘anti semitism is always the canary in the mine,’ he cautioned.

He challenged us to 'Step out of the battle about winners and losers; let go of the need to prove how right we are against the other. There is no future in such contests. The stepping stones into that future into which we are invited by the dream of God lay always in the stories of self-emptying become a self-giving, people like Neil Deniher and Katrina Wruck and Thomas Pickett; like people in our own school community who give of themselves so generously to others. These are the stories of hope in our time. These are these stories which must ignite us, bringing us together rather than dividing us.'

May the narrative of 2025 be one echoed in John 17:26, ‘that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.'

Youth Masses for Term 1

Twice a term, St Pius X and Mercy College collaborate to offer a Youth Mass at Our Lady of Dolours at 5:30 pm on a Sunday. A pizza dinner follows the Mass and is a wonderful opportunity to share faith, friendship and food. Please take up the opportunity to refill your inner cup! 

Please find below the dates for this year:

Term 1: Sun 23/2, Sun 23/ 3

Term 2: Sun 18/5, Sun 15/6

Term 3: Sun 10/8, Sun 7/9

Term 4: Sun 7/11, Sun 30/11

The Cross Project: Edmund Rice Education Australia - New College Crucifix

The Cross Project was issued as an opportunity from Edmund Rice Education Australia to create a crucifix that reflects the local story of each school. This prototype crucifix is the result of surveying the parents, students and staff of the College as to what elements they wished to be included as hallmarks of our story here at St Pius X College. 

Christ is at the centre to reflect Him as the beating heart of our community, and the ‘why’ behind Edmund’s vision and all that we do at St Pius X College. Jesus's face ‘leans in towards the beholder’ reflecting that the divine is always reaching out in invitation. His hair seamlessly interweaves with the beginning of the celtic patterned cross, reflecting the beginning of the Charism of Edmund Rice and the celtic spirituality that took the call of the Gospels and expressed its answer in Catholic schools dedicated to the most vulnerable. The overall choice for the celtic cross also references the Aran Islands and the Irish mystics that feature in the Edmund Rice Icon and our recently installed chapel windows. 

The celtic weaving pattern does not stop at each of the cross beams but merges into new expression as young branches of the Corymbia Macculata (Spotted Gum) native to our area. Its young leaves stretch out towards the light, stretching out to new expressions of what it means to be a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice Tradition. The weaved pattern is now open to welcoming new members to our growing community and expresses inclusivity with fresh young growth, while retaining its roots and drawing authenticity and nourishment from our ancient and living tradition. The crucifix thus becomes a timeline of connectivity from the incarnation to the present, and reminds us that we are the next Gospel. The young leaves fresh with possibility reminds us that our creator is a God of surprises.

Our commitment to Reconciliation is expressed through the four Aboriginal symbols for gathering, and the blue and gold dot patterned circle on the outer ring of the crucifix. This mirrors imagery from a core Aboriginal painting commissioned for the College. The gathering symbols have not been identified as either men or women gathering, as we seek to be a community not simply dedicated to boys education, but to the development of the whole person including staff and parents, women and men alike; in short a place of safety and welcome for all.

Lastly, the four gathering symbols also echo the four Gospels and the four touchstones, reminding us of the foundations of our community and the reason that we gather each day. They form ‘why’ and the ‘how’ respectively, of what it means to be part of St Pius X. Our patron saint is referenced by the circle surrounding the face of Christ acknowledging the Eucharist. Pope St Pius X was known as the Pope of Eucharist, and it continues to be the source and summit of the life of the College. It reminds us to embrace the call to become that which we receive – temples of God’s unconditional love. 

We look forward to furthering this project to further embed our College Crucifix in the life of our college and rituals.

Year 7 Formation Day - 'Through the window Mr Rice'

Year 7 will be taking part in their Formation Day at Oxford Falls on Tuesday 11 February. Students will be taking a deep dive into the story of Edmund Rice to appreciate his vision that manifested into the global network of Catholic Education that we enjoy today. Students will explore the inherent call to justice and social outreach as the hands and feet of Christ that are synonymous with an education in the Edmund Rice tradition, and finally will explore the Touchstones and what they mean for them at the start of their senior school journey.

Mr Daniel Petrie - Assistant Principal, Mission and Identity