SHOWING THE WAY TO GOD
Fr Quyen Vu SJ, Australian Provincial
This year marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of one of our Australian Jesuit schools, St Ignatius College, Adelaide. Today over 1,500 students are educated on campuses at Norwood and Athelstone. These students are formed and educated by a dedicated staff, supported by families who share the vision of our educational mission. An anniversary like this provides an opportunity to reflect on the great importance of education, the power of formative communities and the deep responsibility we have for the students in our care.
I am immensely grateful for the way so many families continue to support our Province’s mission of education and not only entrust their children to our care but actively seek to support our mission. I am so grateful for the staff across our school network who provide great care and set strong standards for our students, engaging the charism of Jesuit and Ignatian education in our contemporary context.
If we think about the last seventy-five-year period we can see that so much has changed in our schools. In Jesuit and companion schools we are constantly adapting the ways that we engage and educate students. Jesuit education has always been innovative. Its early curricula engaged the best of what was considered secular and was innovative for its time in using drama, debating, sports and more in its program. Our ongoing task is to be innovative so that we meet our students where they are at, utilising the best contemporary tools and practices to do it.
Our innovation has always been grounded in commitments that are unchanging. Ours is an educational ministry of the Catholic Church, called to proclaim Jesus Christ in our words and deeds. We hold that each human person has God-given dignity and we have a vision for the way that people, families and communities can flourish. We seek excellence in our ministry of education. We seek an education that provides the opportunity for the full flourishing of our students. We understand this excellence and this flourishing always in relation to God’s love expressed through Jesus Christ.
Banner photo courtesy of Saint Ignatius’ College Adelaide.
Video by Janark Gray.