Yesterday marked the end of two coinciding celebrations. The first was the conclusion to the Year of Mercy, proclaimed throughout the world by Pope Francis and featured in our daily lives from the feast of the Immaculate Conception to the feast of Christ the King, the end of the Church’s liturgical year.
In the last week I have had the opportunity, indeed the privilege, to attend and be a participant in two retreats held at the Riverwood Downs Conference Centre near Gloucester.
The celebration of the 150 years since the arrival of the first residential Bishop in the Diocese of Maitland, Bishop James Murray, came to a fitting climax on Sunday with the dedication of the former St John the Baptist Cathedral as St John’s Chapel.
Over the last few days there have been three significant events that have shone a direct focus on education, particularly Catholic education, and although they celebrated the rich history of Catholic education in our diocese they also served to highlight the exciting future of education in our diocese and across Australia.
In 2004, the University of Newcastle introduced a competition entitled the Science and Engineering Challenge which was largely contested by schools in the Hunter region.
On four occasions during the year a lunch, organised by the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle’s Association of Catholic Professionals, is held to enable people working in a range of professions to engage with issues that impact on the Church.