News and Events

In St Joseph's Care......

On Tuesday 27th October, the MacKillop Catholic College community, Mornington marked the 10th anniversary of their College Chapel by naming it in honour of St Joseph.    Archbishop Adrian Doyle was principal celebrant and homilist at the Mass during which the Chapel was named.   The concelebrant was Fr Peter O’Loughlin, the Parish Priest of Bellerive – Lindisfarne.  

Among special guests at the Mass were the families of staff and students who had died and whose names have been inscribed on the Memorial Wall in the Chapel.   Also in attendance were Dr Trish Hindmarsh, the newly appointed Director of the Tasmanian Catholic Education Office, Br Tony Smith cfc, the first Principal of MacKillop College, and a number of Sisters of St Joseph as well as staff and students of the College.

To mark the centenary of her death, the College had commissioned a sculpture of Blessed Mary MacKillop.  

Following the Mass, the Congregation moved in procession from the Chapel of St Joseph for the blessing by Archbishop Doyle and the dedication by Sr Jillian Dance, the Sister Guardian of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Centenary Sculpture.

Mr Bernie Tarr, the sculptor, gave a brief and moving address about his experience of creating the magnificent sculpture.  Mindful of the nature of the secondary College community, Bernie explained his struggle to create an image of Mary MacKillop, a woman whose holiness was obvious and who has appeal to teenagers today.   His creation of Mary is of a young committed religious woman who is listening attentively to some eager students enthusiastic about their learning.  While she is engaged with her students, she invites observers and visitors to spend time chatting with her on the seat beside her.  

 

 

The assembled representatives and friends of the College community agreed that Bernie’s extraordinary craftsmanship and his deep personal spirituality had resulted in an original creation which would influence generations of students and offer hope and challenge in a world in need of the kind of compassion and justice modelled by Blessed Mary MacKillop.