Welcome to any new members and welcome back to all returning members of our OLMC community. I hope you had a blessed Easter holiday break, with some time for rest, relaxation and renewal with loved ones. To those who were here last term, thank you for your attendance and support with our Whole School Holy Week Liturgy, which was held in our Nalleijerring Centre during Lesson 2 on our last day of Term 1, Holy (Maundy) Thursday 2 April.
Some members of our OLMC community may have noticed that I am still using ‘Happy Easter’ as a greeting, inserting ‘Alleluia’ whenever possible (even in non-religious contexts), and signing off my emails with ‘Kind regards and Easter blessings.’ This is because we are still in the liturgical season of Easter (Eastertide), which will conclude with our celebration of Pentecost on 24 May. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is a core belief in our Catholic tradition. It offers us hope in our own resurrection and union with God when that time comes (which is acknowledged whenever we recite the Creed at Mass), and so it is appropriate that we continue to celebrate this for some weeks beyond Easter Sunday.
Last week my community of Sisters of Mercy here in Melbourne celebrated the life and love of our oldest Sister of Mercy to date: Sr Felicia (Bessie Margaret) Holland RSM. Our dear Felicia was 104 years old when she came home to God on 12 April. Michael McGirr (current Mission Director of Caritas Australia) has written this reflection on her, which was featured in a recent edition of Melbourne Catholic. I trust that dear Felicia has been lovingly embraced by our God of mercy, and is now enjoying the fullness of eternal life and union with God, continuing to be ‘sunshine on the rainiest day,’ to quote McGirr.
In this same edition of Melbourne Catholic, various events across our Archdiocese of Melbourne have been advertised, which may be of interest, especially the upcoming CTC Engaging Your Faith series of short, online sessions that can be counted towards Catholic teacher accreditation (the first session of this series will commence on Monday, 4 May, 7.00-8.30pm). These sessions are open to everyone, not just those engaged in Catholic education, and are opportunities for deepening one’s faith formation and understanding of theology.
As mentioned in a previous newsletter, this year marks the 175th anniversary of the establishment of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Parish, Heidelberg, our closest neighbour (literally across the road on Cape Street) and one of our Catholic feeder primary schools. The current parish priest, Fr Vinh Nguyen, has also been appointed our College Chaplain and so we will be seeing more of Fr Vinh in and around our OLMC community. This Sunday 3 May, the Most Reverend Peter A. Comensoli, Archbishop of Melbourne, will celebrate Mass in honour of St. John’s 175th anniversary. Mass at St. John’s Catholic Church will commence at 10.30am, followed by a light luncheon in the hall. All are welcome. Some of our OLMC students and staff will be in attendance, so please feel free to join us.
Just a reminder that St. John’s is celebrating 175 years in various ways throughout the year, as advertised in their 2026 Parish Calendar. Other upcoming events worth highlighting include:
- 175th Anniversary Gala Dinner on Friday 29 May at 7.00pm in Ivanhoe Centre-Heidelberg Town Hall (ticketed event – please see details under the Community section of this newsletter)
- Thanksgiving Mass for the Sisters of Mercy on Sunday 13 September at 10.30am, followed by morning tea.
May we be mindful of all those who are unwell, struggling in some way, or close to death at this time, and for all those who are loving and caring for them on their journey to wholeness or fullness with God. In light of our recent commemoration of ANZAC Day, may we continue to pray for and work towards peace in our community and in our world. And may the hope, joys and blessings of Easter be yours. Alleluia! Christ is risen! Alleluia!
