Mission and Identity 

What's happening in the College? 

• Welcome Fr David
• Commencement Mass
• Ash Wednesday

St. Pius Welcomes are new Parish Priest to Our Lady of Dolours

At Monday morning's Assembly the staff and students had the opportunity to hear from our new Parish Priest Fr David Ranson. It was wonderful to hear how he spoke of his connection already to many of the families, in that many St Pius X College students were either: baptised, confirmed of received their first holy communion from Fr David. He spoke of his desire to work with St Pius and remain in the parish for the long term. We look forward to Fr David celebrating our Commencement Mass next week.

Commencement Mass

Preparations are well underway for Tuesday’s Commencement Mass where as a faith community we will gather inside the Christian Brothers Centre at Oxford Falls to officially mark the commencement of the 2021 school year. The occasion will provide the perfect backdrop to launch our theme of “Better Together” with the scripture and focus of the Eucharistic Celebration being one where the young men will gain the understanding that the Student Leadership Team desire for us to “Motivate your Mate.”

Our Commencement Mass will also provide another opportunity for our Year 11 Eucharistic Ministers to work for our community. The Mission and Identity Prefects will lead the Mass, with students also involved in processions and as altar servers. Be sure to look for photos of our Mass in next week's edition of Woodchatta.

Ash Wednesday

Next Wednesday, 17 February, is Ash Wednesday. It is the official commencement of the season of Lent. It is this time where Catholics around the world look inward at their relationship with God and attempt to remove that which takes us away from God. In some cases many Catholics choose to take up something that brings them closer to God.

In our rapidly changing COVID restricted world our liturgical celebrations have had to change so as to fit in with guidelines to keep us safe. One of these guidelines is that students will not be receiving a mark of ash on their foreheads, as has been the tradition for many generations. In saying this, each year group will gather on Wednesday and participate in a liturgy where the meaning of Ash Wednesday and Lent will be made clear as part of our personal preparation for Easter. This will be complemented by work completed in Religious Education classes. 

Part of our Lenten preparation as Catholics is that we give what we can through our almsgiving. Blessed Edmund Rice always encouraged others to “give to the poor in handfuls.” To remain faithful to our charism and to support CARITAS, our Lenten collection will commence in homerooms on Thursday 18 February. Our Year 12 students will drive this collection and all students are asked to give what they can so as to live our faith in the world today.

Mr Nathan Mulheron - Assistant Principal, Mission and Identity