18 March 2022

For the first time since 2019, the Mass of St Patrick for Schools returned to St Patrick’s Cathedral yesterday.

Replaced with an online event in 2020 and 2021, the COVIDSafe event at the cathedral in 2022 marked a return to more traditional Catholic Education Week activities. Celebrated by Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, the annual Mass brought together students and teachers from primary and secondary schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne. While the number of participants from each school was lowered, the enthusiasm was still just as high.

The student readers were representatives of schools celebrating a special milestone, including St John’s School, Mitcham (150 years), St Columba’s College, Essendon (125 years), and three schools celebrating their centenary this year: Mary Immaculate School, Ivanhoe, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Prahran East, and St John’s School, Footscray. One of our oldest schools: St Mary’s School, Williamstown, and our two newest schools: Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, Mickleham, and St Lawrence of Brindisi Catholic Primary School, Weir Views, were there to join with others in song and prayer, and celebrate their part of Melbourne’s Catholic education landscape.