Catholic Education in Australia celebrates 200 years in 2021.

Australian Catholic education celebrates 200 years of Catholic schooling in this country.

https://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/news-events/media-releases/553-national-launch-catholic-education-in-australia-celebrates-200-years/file

In the Armidale Diocese:

On Friday 19 February Bishop Michael Kennedy officially launched the Armidale Diocesan celebrations of 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia.

In 1848, the first Catholic school opened in Armidale, 5 years before the appointment of a Parish Priest and 14 years before the Diocese of Armidale was established and 34 years before the first teaching of Religion came to the diocese.

The beginnings of St Joseph’s Glen Innes:

The first St Joseph’s School in Glen Innes was opened on the 21st January, 1884, by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The founder of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart was St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, who stayed in the Convent. The school was initially for day pupils, although boarding facilities were provided soon after in the Convent. The original school was a wooden building erected next to the Church (now the Church Hall).

When the new Church (the existing one) was built in 1909, the school moved into the old church building. Over the years other buildings were added as the population of the town increased and, more specifically, numbers at St Joseph. A two-storey block was completed in 1926 and an Infants’ building was erected in 1960.

The school will officially launch the celebration of 200 years of Catholic Education and shall participate in events commemorating this ongoing commitment to providing Catholic Education.

In this newsletter you will find the link to the pastoral letter “200 years young” from the Bishops of Australia.

Here is an extract from this document:

Catholic schools are a jewel in the crown of the Catholic Church in Australia, with few parallels in other countries. Alongside families and parishes they are the Church’s principal meeting point with young people. They are integral to the Church’s mission of transmitting the faith to the next generation. It is there that many young people encounter Christ, intensify their knowledge and love of God, and are formed as future contributors to Australian society. We hope all our students will emerge from our schools with a deepened sense of the sacred and greater appreciation of the true, the good and the beautiful. Catholic education is steadfast in its commitment to evangelisation, catechesis, religious education and spiritual and moral formation.

Catholic schools are also a major part of Australia’s educational ecosystem. They are the equal of other schools regarding educational programs, student achievement, teacher professionalism, facilities and innovation. They have provided high quality education to generations of young Australians, now numbering in their millions. They stand as a beacon in our society, for their contribution to the common good and to the nation’s social capital. They have helped nurture a more just, tolerant and cohesive society. Catholic education is determined in its commitment to excellence and equity.

In this bicentenary year more than one in five Australian students attends a Catholic school, and many others a Catholic preschool, college or university. There are Catholic schools in most towns and suburbs, and university campuses in most capital cities. The students come from diverse backgrounds and beliefs. They are no longer all from poorer families, as so many were in the first century and a half of Catholic education. Despite our continuing preferential option for the poor and concern to be more accessible to First Australians, refugees, those with disabilities or other disadvantage, our schools now boast children drawn from every part of our society. Yet for all their diversity, they form a community with a common purpose and shared mission. As Christ said that He had come “that they might have life, life to the full” (John 10:10), we seek to draw out our students’ gifts, address their challenges and enable them to experience fullness of life.

A year honoring St Joseph

Pope Francis has named December 8, 2020 – December 8, 2021 as a year honoring St Joseph as the earthly father of Jesus and husband of Mary. This Year of St Joseph is the 150th anniversary of St Joseph being named as patron of the Universal Church.

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