The Year 9 Religion class has a set routine to begin their lesson, where they read the daily scripture, reflect on key ideas within and write an “I hope” statement as a type of prayer in thinking of others. This term the class will be looking at the history of the Catholic Church and the influential key figures that influenced its development and progression including icons of our College. The common thread that students have noticed so far about these individuals was that they went against societal norms of the time in order to look after the poor and needy.

Wil Brady commented on his research on Catherine McAuley stating, “She was a woman of great determination and bravery, who instead of living a life of luxury, decided to teach the uneducated souls of the world, the poor and helpless women of society”.

The class will progress through further research on Mary MacKillop, Edmund Rice, Nano Nangle, Elizabeth Seton to name a few, in order to evaluate their impact on the Church. Their investigation will look at how these spiritual mothers and fathers in history participated in the work of Christ, speaking out against injustice and acting to have human dignity respected.