Students from OLOR will celebrate the First Sacrament of Reconciliation on Monday 29th March at 6:00pm in St. Mary’s Church. 

Combined Parish Picnic 

The Our Lady of the River Parish consists of six Riverland Parish Communities from Loxton, Waikerie, Morgan, Berri, Barmera, and Renmark. On Sunday 14th of March, each of these communities will unite to celebrate Mass on the Riverfront at Kingston on Murray, followed by a fun gathering for lunch. Please refer to the information below. It would be lovely if you could attend. 

Year of Saint Joseph 

It has been 150 years since St. Joseph was named a s the universal Patron Saint of the Church. To commemorate this anniversary, Pope Frances has proclaimed the current liturgical year as the Year of St. Joseph. There are many words to describe Joseph as a Father, he was loving, tender, accepting and courageous. St. Joseph gives us a shining example of how to love our children unconditionally as God wants us to.   

We will be blessed with a visit from our new Bishop, Karol and Director of Catholic Education, Mrs. Nichi Marden on 17th March, which is the feast day of St Patrick.  

Students are invited to attend school on Wednesday 17th March in a simple St. Patrick or St. Joseph costume. You should have received a flyer at the beginning of the week with some simple ideas for costumes.  Alternatively, students may choose to wear red to honour St. Joseph or Green to Honour St. Patrick. We are intending to organise a special event to celebrate the Year of St. Joseph. Information about this event will be distributed in the coming weeks. 

200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia 

In 2021, Australian Catholic Education celebrates 200 years of Catholic schooling in this country. A virtual launch of the bicentennial celebrations was hosted on Thursday 18 February and can be viewed below: 

The Pastoral Letter to leaders, staff, students and families from the Bishops of Australia entitled 200 Years Young in recognition of the Bicentenary of Catholic Education in Australia can be view by following the link https://online.cesa.catholic.edu.au/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-34482/Pastoral%2BLetter_200%2BYears%2BYoung_18022021.pdf 

The bicentenary commemorates the anniversary of the first official Catholic school in Australia, founded in October 1820 by Irish Catholic priest Fr John Therry. The school, which Catholic historians believe was located on Hunter Street in Parramatta, taught 31 students. An Irish Catholic convict George Marley (also identified as George Morley), who was sent to the colony, opened the school for Fr Therry and ran it for three years.   

Now 200 years later, Australia is home to 1,751 Catholic schools. We have grown from educating 31 students in our humble beginnings to 768 000 students. This is an outstanding achievement.  

Celebrations will be held Nation Wide in the coming months. To keep up to date with celebrations or to view some of the stories of Australian Catholic Schools, visit https://200years.catholic.edu.au/ 

You will receive prayer cards today with the official national prayer for all Catholic Schools. I encourage you to pray this prayer with your families. 

May God’s peaceful Spirit be with you always,

Rosemary Perre

APRIM

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