This week is Catholic Schools Week 2017. We know that, just like us, schools all over Ireland are celebrating this special week. During this week the pupils, staff, parents, grandparents, members of boards and the people of the parish will show, in lots of different ways, that they are proud of their Catholic school. It is good to celebrate who we are and what we do. The theme of Catholic Schools Week this year is Learning with Pope Francis to Care for Our Common Home.
We take time to think about how we can care for God’s world. Our world is a gift from God and he has entrusted it to our care.. Pope Francis is asking us to work together to create a better world for future generations and to take care of, respect and value our common home. The word ‘pope’ comes from Latin word pater and means ‘father’. This is why we call the pope Holy Father. The pope’s task is to be the Vicar of Christ on earth, Supreme Pontiff, Bishop of Rome and Holy Father. This means to lead and build the Catholic Church, to defend our faith and to teach us and guide us in our faith. The pope lives and works in the Vatican in Rome, Italy. On most Sundays he gives a special message and blessing to pilgrims who gather on St Peter’s Square, and to people throughout the world. Ever since the time of Jesus, there has been a pope. In fact, Pope Francis is the 226th pope. At Mass, we as Christians ‘profess our faith’ or say that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God. The first person to say this was one of Jesus’ apostles, Simon Peter. When Simon Peter said this to Jesus, Jesus gave him the new name of Peter and said to him, ‘You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.’ So Jesus put Peter in charge of the Church on
earth. Peter was the first pope and all popes since continue his work of building the Church.
We brought the choir and children from 4th and 5th classes to the church today for the feast of St Brigid.