STAFF and students from two Riverland Catholic schools joined in a simultaneous online mass last week to mark 200 years of Catholic education in Australia.
St Joseph’s School Renmark and Berri’s Our Lady of the River School, together with a number of Catholic schools nationwide, tuned into mass on Monday, May 24, at 10am.
St Joseph’s School Renmark assistant principal religious identity and mission (APRIM) Michael Slagter described the mass as “grand”.
“The mass was livestreamed from the cathedral on Wakefield Street in Adelaide and it was great to see,” he said.
“A number of classes tuned in and it was good for them to see a big, important ceremony that celebrated our Catholic faith and history.
“The mass had a number of bishops and priests and there were talks from the Arch Bishop of Adelaide and the director of Catholic Education South Australia.
“It involved things any normal mass does – gospel and bible readings and communion – but the students got to look at the strong contribution Catholic education has had over the past 200 years.”
Mr Slagter said the school commemorated 200 years of Catholic education in its own way.
“We’ve been talking to the students all year about the beginnings of Catholic education and they were all well aware that this year marks 200 years in Australia,” he said.
“A couple of weeks ago was Catholic Education Week and we commemorated 200 years then by holding a ‘switch-off day’, which involved the school switching off all power for 200 minutes.”
Mr Slagter said it was important to celebrate the beginnings of Catholic education.
“I’ve been in Catholic education for 18 years and it’s been great,” he said.
“The first school nationwide was in Parramatta, Sydney, in 1820, and the first school in South Australia was 1844.
“St Jo’s celebrated its 100-year anniversary too recently, which was special.
“There are currently around 777,000 students in Catholic schools nationwide and that’s a huge number… it’s a big educator in Australia. Catholic schools give families a choice of where they want to send their kids and the values they’d like to be taught.”