By Susan Gately - 19 January, 2018
Bishop Denis Nulty at Carlow Cathedral for the launch of Catholic Schools Week.
In advance of Catholic Schools’ Week, Bishop Denis Nulty of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, launched a Diocesan Celebration of Catholic Education yesterday.
Hundreds of representatives of the primary and post primary schools of the diocese filled Carlow Cathedral bringing with them petition boxes of all shapes and sizes which had been put together by the children. Bishop Nulty had asked each school to bring along the home -made ‘Prayer Petition’ boxes. Yesterday, surrounded by hundreds of children he blessed them, and presented a copy of the Icon of the Holy Family which is to be placed in the ‘School Prayer Space’ in each school.
As the World Meeting of Families takes place in Dublin in August, this year’s Catholic Schools Week has a new flavour. In partnership with the World Meeting of Families 2018, the steering Committee of Catholic Schools’ Week, has developed a one-year catechetical programme for Catholic primary and post-primary schools.
The theme for this programme is Catholic Schools: Called to be a Family of Families. The programme invites Catholic schools to reflect on and to celebrate the relationship that exists between home, school and parish, through participation in four catechetical moments: Families of Hope, Families of Faith, Families of Love and Families of Joy. Each moment will be in focus for one month.
In May, the beautiful icon of the Holy Family, associated with the World Meeting of Families will arrive in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin where it will spend time in churches in Newbridge, Portlaoise and Carlow. The people of Kildare are invited to place prayers of petition in the Diocesan Petition Box which will then be held in prayer by members of Religious Communities all over the diocese.
Bishop Nulty blesses prayer boxes in Carlow.
Before that, over the coming months, it is hoped that children, staff and parents will place prayer petitions in the blessed boxes in their schools. Then in May, each school will be invited to bring their box of prayers and place it in front of the Icon when it visits their local area.
Catholic Schools Week runs from the 28th January to 4th February. Resources for primary schools may be found at: https://www.kandle.ie/resources/primary-resources/. For post primary resources log onto: https://www.kandle.ie/resources/post-primary-resources/.
On Sunday 4 February, to conclude the week, the Bishop of Killaloe, Bishop Fintan Monahan, will celebrate a special Mass from the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul, Ennis. The Mass will be broadcast on radio by RTÉ.
