Welcome to Term 4! I hope our OLMC students and staff had a lovely break, with opportunities for R&R and time with loved ones, and that Term 4 has started well. I am conscious that our VCE students and teachers have been busy with the completion of their final assessments and/or preparation for exams. As we celebrate and farewell our Class of 2026, we give thanks for their contributions and achievements during their time at OLMC. May our shared values of courage, compassion, justice and joy continue to inspire our Year 12 students beyond OLMC, and we wish them well for the next chapter of their life journey.
Sunday 4 October was the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (1181/82-1226), which also concluded the 2026 Season of Creation. This year marked 800 years since the death and transitus of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order, which was celebrated with great gusto in Italy with a national holiday (for the first time in half a century) and special commemorations in Assisi. For more on this, click here and here.
Last Monday 12 October was the second Feast Day of St. Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), who was recently canonised on 7 September 2025 and is being called ‘the Millennial Saint,’ having died of leukemia at 15 years of age on 12 October 2006. English-born St. Carlo was known for his deep devotion to the Eucharist, generosity and charitable works, as well as his positive use of computers, coding and programming to proclaim the Gospel, and is the patron saint of computer programmers and youth; therefore, he serves as a modern role model for young people of faith, especially in this digital age and time of artificial intelligence. A first-class relic of St. Carlo is currently making its way around Australia, including Melbourne around this time. For more on this, click here and here.
'The best thanksgiving consists in amendment of life, silence, meekness, charity, humility and generosity.’ ~ attributed to Venerable Catherine McAuley (founder of the Sisters of Mercy), taken from According to Catherine: Words of Wisdom from Catherine McAuley, A Thematic Approach by Sr Bonaventure Brennan RSM (Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy Dublin, 2003).
Like Sts. Francis of Assisi and Carlo Acutis, Venerable Catherine McAuley regularly prayed and received Holy Communion, acknowledged her faults and failings, counted her blessings, and reflected on how her life imitates Jesus Christ and emulates the Gospel. As members of a Catholic school community that is inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, guided by the example of Mary, the Mother of God, and grounded in the charism of mercy and spirituality of Catherine McAuley, we are encouraged to do the same. May we find time and space for silence, stillness and savouring of all God’s creation, and to soak up this spring sunshine.