Edmund Rice Day and India Fun Run

After various COVID restrictions which meant a postponement of our usual Edmund Rice Day celebrations in May this year, both students and staff enjoyed a particularly busy program today as we looked to combine our Edmund Rice Day activities with our annual India Fun Run. We were blessed with a wonderful day of fine weather as we celebrated these two significant College events. Beginning with a very special Eucharistic Celebration, students heard various presentations from respective Service Agencies which included hearing from a range of students, past and current, who gave very moving reflections on the ongoing support our College gives to our partner schools and centres in India. All students and staff then participated in the India Fun Run, prior to enjoying food and fun as part of the stalls and activities organised from lunchtime. What a big day!

Edmund Rice Day celebrates the rich history of Edmund Rice Education and its ongoing place across the world. At Trinity College, it provides a focus on our context as a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice tradition and challenges us to reflect on the values upon which an Edmund Rice education is built. Driven by the desire of Blessed Edmund Rice to provide education and learning for the city’s poorest and most underprivileged children, the first Edmund Rice school (Mount Sion in Waterford City, Ireland) was founded in 1802. Edmund believed that education was capable of liberating individuals to seek a more joyous, purposeful and productive life. Today, across the world, in very different and diverse contexts, Edmund Rice schools, care centres and charity groups continue to provide formation opportunities, educational pathways, support and guidance to many students and families.

While many within our College community would be familiar with the historical story of Blessed Edmund Rice, what we seek to do as a school is to continue to honour the legacy and mission of his ongoing work. Our strong Christian Service program and mantra of being ‘Men for Others’ is a reminder of these values. The importance of education and opportunity being a liberating force for young people remains relevant today. Our challenge lies in forming good young men in a manner that they will continue to be selfless in their outlook and compassionate in their care for all people.

Amidst the continuing global pandemic and the emergence of war and increased political unrest, Pope Francis challenges us all when he recently suggested that “… people are rushing through life ‘greedy for profit’, undisturbed by ‘wars and injustices’ and not hearing the ‘cry of the poor or of our ailing planet’. We are carrying on regardless, thinking we can stay healthy in a world that is sick and ailing." It would seem that the values of care, courage, faith and stewardship so wonderfully demonstrated by Blessed Edmund Rice so many years ago, may be needed now more than ever. He certainly challenged the ailing system of his time. He could not disregard those in need despite his own life being disturbed. The values so wonderfully displayed by Edmund Rice remain as important today as they did some 200 years ago.

In a similar way, the annual running of our Fun Run for India returns our focus to the importance of raising much needed funds in order to continue our ongoing support of the various missions and charity works in India – the very same missions, schools and charities that the staff and young men of our College have regularly visited, supported and established ongoing relationships through pilgrimages and on-line relationships for several years. It is a timely reminder about the importance of our Mission, Charity and Outreach work.

Trinity College does an extraordinary amount of work in helping and supporting others. This can be seen through our ongoing commitment to several charities and organisations who do important and meaningful work both locally and overseas. Our respective donations and practical assistance to groups such as Lifelink, Brother Olly’s Wheelchairs for Kids, Shopfront, Red Cross Soup Patrol, St Vincent de Paul, Edmund Rice Camps for Kids and the India Pilgrimage – to name just a few, is evidence of such commitment to reach out. Likewise, the boys do extraordinary work in helping others through the Christian Service Program

In many contexts, and in a variety of ways, Trinity College lives out the challenge to ‘love one another’ which was at the heart of Jesus’ message as told through the Gospel of Matthew 22: 34-40 – to love unconditionally, and to be truly compassionate and caring. This is also at the core of our Edmund Rice tradition, as captured in two of our Touchstones; Gospel Spirituality and Justice and Solidarity. Similarly, this message of love and authentic care for others is wonderfully captured in two of our Spirit Ambitions. The Spirit of Faith ‘calls us to be a proud faith community where gospel values are known, lived and celebrated.’ The Spirit of Service ‘calls us to form young men with the ‘TC Spirit’ who are authentic, active and outstanding role models in their outreach.’

While academic knowledge is important, and the opportunity to engage in Sport and the Arts is certainly enjoyed, it may be our efforts in teaching and providing opportunities for our boys to be of service, to show compassion and help those in need (to love), that is the most rewarding. We trust that the spirit of those students and staff who have previously travelled to India, and the spirit of those that will no doubt be part of future Pilgrimages from our College, will continue to provide valuable support to the various mission schools, orphanages and homeless centres that we support in India. In doing so, they will help spread some ‘Trinity love’ to those that certainly need it.

Our ongoing celebration and acknowledgement of both Edmund Rice Day and our India Fun Run remind us, as a community, that we must continue to instil in our boys the ability to see injustice, the courage to challenge this appropriately, and the wisdom to do things differently and positively for their future.

Live Jesus in our hearts.

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