Veritas - From the APRIM

Veritas – From the APRIM

St Vincent de Paul – Feast Day September 27

During the preparations for our Confirmation and 1st Communion candidates this year, it was stated that the choice of a Confirmation name – the name of a saint – may actually be the saint choosing the candidate, not the other way around. This was conveyed by someone old who had realised that their vocational life had many similarities to their Confirmation saint. He’d chosen his saint because he liked the name, but then his life seemed to coincidentally reflect the saint.

When I was confirmed I chose Vincent because I liked the name. (I thought Vinnie was a cool nickname, probably from seeing John Travolta in his Vinnie Barbarino character on the American sit-com Welcome Back Kotter). The saint was St Vincent de Paul and as an exercise, we had to learn about our saint, so I learned a bit about him.

St Vincent de Paul is well known because of the charitable organisation known as Vinnies. (It is actually called the Society of St Vincent de Paul). However, it was Blessed Frederic Ozanam who founded the Society in 1833, and he named it after St Vincent de Paul. Ozanam was devoted to St Vincent, who is the patron saint of charitable societies, and he modelled the Society on St Vincent’s call to “see Christ in the poor and to be Christ to the poor”.

Vinnies collects and distributes basic life needs for the poor and marginalised. Internationally, many, many Catholic parishes have a ‘conference’ that promotes and coordinates this service. Schools also get involved, just as we did throughout Term 2 and some of Term 3 by collecting non-perishable food items, mostly cans. We will also construct Christmas hampers for families supported by Vinnies throughout Term 4. More information will go out to our community as to how this can be supported.

St Vincent de Paul was born in France in 1581. Due to his demonstrable holiness and intellect, much sacrifice was made for him to receive an education instead of working on his parent’s farm, and this was provided by Franciscans who encouraged him to pursue the priestly vocation. He was ordained at 19, and at 24 was captured and enslaved in Tunisia for three years. He reportedly converted his Muslim slave-owner to Christianity and together they stowed away on a boat back to France. This three-year ordeal increased his level of compassion for the downtrodden and this led him to ultimately devote his life to the poor, enslaved and imprisoned people of his region. He inspired others, such as Frederick Ozanam, to form institutions devoted to the needy. In his time, he founded the Daughters of Charity who continue to serve the poor.

When I look back at my choice of Confirmation name, I am also questioning whether it was Vincent that chose me instead. I am certainly not implying I am anything like Vincent in terms of suffering and charity. However, when I was named Vincent in Confirmation all those years ago, I didn’t envisage that I’d be repeatedly coordinating efforts to provide resources for Vinnies to redistribute to the needy.

This year, I noticed the name of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was chosen by several girls. Will we see a revolution in Catholic education in 15 years’ time as a result? I also noticed lots of boys choosing Dominicans – perhaps the Order of Preachers will be re-invigorated in 15 year too.

Vinnies Can Drive Competitions

House Can Drive Competition Results

Year 5 La Forgia/West - 515 cans

Secondary Denifle Home Group of Mr Baldacchino - 434 cans

Interschool Competition

1. St Aloysius (10850)

2. Blackfriars (4336)

3. St Mary's (3513)

4. Loreto (2496)

5. Mercedes (1852)

6. St Dominic’s (503)

7. CBC (0)

Congratulations to our community for this terrific act of service.

St Dominic’s Day and further support of Catholic Charities

I am pleased to report that our St Dominic’s Day celebration earned about $2,600 for Catholic Charities. The YCS group also held a barbecue to mark R U OK Day, and this also raised a further $500 for Catholic Charities, which includes support for those suffering from or recovering from mental health challenges. Thank you to our community members for your support of the various Catholic Charities that are supported through these fundraising efforts.

Mr Matthew Crisanti

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: RELIGIOUS IDENTITY  & MISSION