Feast Day 2022
Our Feast Day, 8 August, is the most important day in our calendar year because it commemorates the memorial of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, our patron saint and upon who’s charism, we have built our College values, mission and philosophy. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate our sense of community as a College. Our connection to Mary extends back to the St Joseph’s Babies’ Home which was built here on our College site in 1901, when the then Archbishop of Melbourne, Thomas Carr, called on the Sisters of St Joseph’s Mother General, Mary MacKillop to assist in establishing a “sheltering home for unfortunate mothers and their young babies”. This provided mothers with no support, a place to live before and after their child was born. Families struggling with illness or poverty also used the home for respite care of their young children.
In 1995, Penola Catholic College was started through the amalgamation of three Catholic schools, Sancta Sophia College, now our Junior Campus at Glenroy and Therry College and Geoghegan College, which were both located on the grounds of our current Senior Campus in Broadmeadows. Due to our close ties with Mary and the Josephites, it was very fitting that we then endorsed the charism of Mary and the Josephites as our own. From this, we also became members of the AJASS network of schools. AJASS is an acronym for the Association of Josephite Affiliated Secondary Schools.
What an amazing day Feast Day 2022 was! The hype and excitement were huge. We started with our Feast Day Mass, and true to form, Fr Tony ensured that our Mass was a beautiful tribute to Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop, Fr Julian Tenison-Woods and to our indigenous people. I am sure St Mary would have been quite touched by the sanctity of it all and especially, the role play in which Fr Julian and Mary figured quite prominently along with two of our students. The Mass led into the fun-filled festivities of the Little Long Walk, Penola’s Got Talent, rides, music bands and food stalls. This has been sadly missed for the past few years but our College community certainly made up for it, as evidenced by the excitement of the huge queues at the rides and the food stalls all selling out! It really was a wonderful celebration and God certainly played his part by ensuring that we all got to bask in the beautiful sunshine. The primary school students’ event was also quite a big hit with many families joining in the fun for the late afternoon session. There were smiles and laughter aplenty!! Feast Day was certainly all we had hoped for … and more!
Year 11 Reflection Day
Last Friday, 12 August, we held our Year 11 Reflection Day in the Auditorium. Gen Bryant and her Band, led the students through the morning in song and in testimony to faith. They were fabulous and the students really engaged in the sessions. Rose Rofaeel, CEO and founder of Christmas on the Streets, our Year 11 Charity, also spoke with the students about COTS in preparation for their Christian Service experience, which they will undertake for an afternoon over the coming weeks.
The Feast of the Assumption Masses
The Feast of the Assumption, 15 August, is a holy day of obligation in the Catholic faith and celebrates the wonderful and most sacred life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. As such, we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption with a Mass at each campus. They were both beautiful celebrations led by Fr Tony Cox, our College Chaplain, who explained the significance of this feast throughout his Homily.
