Catholic Identity
Religious Education, Sacramental and Faith Celebration News
In this newsletter...
RE Dates for your diary
Year of St Patrick
Sacraments 2026
Sacrament of First Reconciliation
Community Masses 2026
RE Dates for your diary...
Friday 13th Feb. - Opening School Mass, 9am
Saturday 15th Feb. - Community Mass, 10am
Wednesday 18th Mar. -Ash Wednesday Liturgy, 9am
Year of St Patrick
This year, we will be focusing on St Patrick - the patron of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The theme for Catholic Education Week this year is also 'Christ beside me: Walking in the footsteps of Saint Patrick'.
St Patrick holds a very important place in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, thanks to the many men and women who immigrated to our city from Ireland. Their strong devotion to Patrick, a great missionary of the Church, shaped the early church of Melbourne - so much so that our cathedral is named after him. Patrick spread the Good News throughout Ireland, converting it to Christianity. We are called to be great missionary disciples like Patrick!
Sacraments 2026
As we began to prepare for the 2026 Sacramental Program, letter have been given to families with students in Years 3-6 to indicate their intention to comeplete a sacrament. Students are able to receive the following sacraments:
Year 3 - First Reconciliation
Year 4 - First Eucharist, [First Reconciliation ('catch up')]
Year 5 - [First Eucharist and/or First Reconciliation ('catch up')]
Year 6 - Confirmation, [First Eucharist and/or First Reconciliation ('catch up')]
Digital copies of the notes are provided below. If you have not received or misplaced your note, you can access a copy here.
The Sacramental dates for 2026 are as follows:
Wed. 4th March | Reconciliation - Spirituality Day (for students) - all day |
Reconciliation - Family Sacramental Evening at OLSC Sports Centre - 6.30-7.30pm | |
Wed. 25th March | Sacrament of Penance celebrated at OLSC Sports Centre - 6.30pm |
Wed. 29th April | Eucharist - Spirituality Day (for students) - all day |
Eucharist - Family Sacramental Evening at OLSC Sports Centre - 6.30-7.30pm | |
Sunday 17th May or Sunday 21th June | Sacrament of the Eucharist celebrated, as part of OLSC Community Mass, at OLSC Sports Centre - 10am |
Wed. 29th July | Confirmation - Spirituality Day (for students) - all day |
TBD | Confirmation - Family Sacramental Evening at OLSC Sports Centre - 6.30-7.30pm |
Saturday 8th August | Sacrament of the Confirmation celebrated at MacKillop College Sports - 1pm |
Sacrament of First Reconciliation
The following students have indicated that they will celebrate the Sacrament of First Reconciliation this year. If you have not yet returned your note, please do so as soon as possible.
Aaren T | Anessa E | Ben V | Charlie U | Charlotte H |
Eli W | Aria W | Hudson P | Isla A | Jackson R |
Kimi C | Lizzy S | Matthew H | Nyanadong M | Oscar J |
Saint L | Sebastian S | Vivian U |
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Community Masses in 2026
Community Masses have been very well-attended and we thank everyone from our school and beyond for attending over the past couple of years. It has enabled a strong, warm and vibrant community. After each Mass, many have remained to join in fellowship - a hot drink, a bit to eat, and a friendly conversation. It has been wonderful to see many children running around having fun once everything has been packed away.
It is also wonderful news that Archbishop Comensoli has confirmed and approved a new church to be built on the church block next to school. This is in no small part due to the strong attendance and vibrancy of the Wyndham Vale Catholic community.
This year, Community Masses will be run all the way through the year on every third sunday of the month. The dates are below - we invite everyone to join us during 2026 for these Masses, as we continue to build up this faith community.
We encourage you to spread the word of our Community Masses and invite as many family, friends, neighbours and others to these celebrations.
Follow and like the Wyndham Vale Catholic Community Facebook page to get updates and further information about Community Masses and other events.
John Dini
Catholic Identity Leader