Catholic Identity
What it means that St Mary's is a Catholic college in the Josephite tradition: our patron and motto, Religious Education from Prep to Year 12, prayer and liturgy, the parish partnership, and what we ask of families of all faiths.
St Mary's is a Catholic college of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, founded by the Sisters of St Joseph and still shaped by their way of seeing the world: God is found in ordinary places, every child matters, and faith that does not lead to action is not worth much. This page explains what that looks like day to day — for practising Catholic families, for families of other faiths or none, and for anyone trying to work out whether a Catholic school is the right fit.
Our patron and motto
Our patron is St Mary of the Cross MacKillop (1842–1909), Australia's first saint and co-founder of the Sisters of St Joseph, whose sisters opened this school in 1954. Her best-known instruction — "Never see a need without doing something about it" — opens every Junior assembly.
Our motto, Lumen in Tenebris — "Light in the Darkness" — comes from the Gospel of John and from Mary MacKillop's letters. It is a reminder that a St Mary's student is meant to be useful to the world: a light for others, not a candle kept under a bowl. Students hear it interpreted at each Opening Year Mass, and Year 12 students choose a phrase from it for the theme of their retreat.
Religious Education
Religious Education (RE) is a timetabled subject in every year level from Prep to Year 12, taught by accredited teachers using the Archdiocese's Horizons of Hope framework and the Pedagogy of Encounter approach.
| Years | Time per week | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Prep – Year 2 | 2 hours | God's love, Scripture stories, prayer, belonging to a community, the seasons of the Church year |
| Years 3 – 6 | 2 hours | Preparation for the sacraments, Gospel values, saints, Catholic Social Teaching in action |
| Years 7 – 10 | 3 periods (60 min) | Scripture, Church history, world religions, ethics, Catholic Social Teaching, big questions of meaning |
| Year 11 | 3 periods | Religion & Society Unit 1 (VCE) or Faith & Ethics (college course) |
| Year 12 | 2 periods | Texts and Traditions or Religion & Society Units 3–4 (VCE, scored), or Faith in Action (college course, with service component) |
RE is assessed and reported like any other subject. Students of other faiths are expected to participate fully; RE is an academic study as well as a formation, and students who bring a different tradition to the classroom enrich it.
Prayer and liturgy in the school day
- Every class and homeroom begins the day with prayer; the Junior School also prays before lunch and at the end of the day.
- Whole-school Mass is celebrated on the first Friday of each month at 9:15am in St Mary of the Cross Church, adjacent to the campus. Parents are welcome.
- Year-level and class Masses, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, ANZAC and Remembrance liturgies, the Feast of St Mary MacKillop (8 August) and end-of-year liturgies are listed on Masses & Liturgies.
- Senior students may attend a voluntary Mass in the MacKillop Chapel (St Joseph's Building) on Thursdays at 8:00am, followed by breakfast.
- Students are invited, never forced, to receive Communion or take on liturgical roles; students of other faiths are welcome to come forward for a blessing or remain seated.
Sacramental life
The sacraments of Reconciliation (Year 3), First Eucharist (Year 4) and Confirmation (Year 6) are celebrated through St Mary of the Cross Parish, with preparation shared between the college's RE program and parish family sessions. Details, dates and how to enrol your child are on Sacramental Program. Children who were not baptised as infants and wish to be received into the Church — at any age — are warmly welcomed; contact the Parish Office on (03) 9555 0180.
Faith in action
The Josephite tradition is practical. Our social justice and service program runs across every year level: the Vinnies Social Justice Group, Project Compassion each Lent, the Year 11 Winter Sleepout, the Christmas Hamper Appeal and the Year 10 community service requirement. Our retreats — Year 7 Welcome Retreat, Year 9 Solidarity Camp and the Year 12 Retreat — give students time away from screens to think about who they are and who they want to be.
Our partnership with the parish
The college is part of St Mary of the Cross Parish, Wattle Creek. Our Parish Priest, Fr Michael Dwyer, celebrates our Masses, teaches in the sacramental program and is a familiar face in the yard. Our College Chaplain, Sr Bernadette Long rsj, is a Sister of St Joseph and is available to students and families for a conversation, a prayer or simply a cup of tea in the Chaplaincy room beside the MacKillop Chapel (Tuesday–Thursday). Parish Mass times are Saturday 6:00pm and Sunday 8:30am and 10:30am; the 10:30am Mass on the third Sunday of the month is a Family Mass with the Junior Choir.
Families of other faiths or none
About a quarter of our families are not Catholic. You are genuinely welcome. What we ask is honest and simple:
- your child attends RE, Masses and liturgies and treats them with respect;
- you support the college's Gospel values of dignity, justice, compassion and forgiveness as expressed in our behaviour and wellbeing approach;
- you understand that enrolment priority goes to Catholic families when places are limited (see How to Enrol).
What we do not ask is that anyone pretend to believe something they do not. Some of the most thoughtful questions in our RE classrooms come from students who are working out what they think.
Staff
All teaching staff at St Mary's hold or are working towards Accreditation to Teach in a Catholic School; RE teachers and leaders hold the higher Accreditation to Teach Religious Education. Staff participate in an annual faith formation day and a staff retreat every three years. The Deputy Principal – Wellbeing & Mission, Mrs Siobhan Reilly, leads the college's Catholic identity alongside the Principal.
Contact
Mission & Catholic Identity — Mrs Siobhan Reilly, Deputy Principal – Wellbeing & Mission · mission@stmaryswc.vic.edu.au · (03) 9555 0100 College Chaplain — Sr Bernadette Long rsj · mission@stmaryswc.vic.edu.au Parish Office — Fr Michael Dwyer, Parish Priest · (03) 9555 0180