Our community bears the name of Patrick, the saint who brought to Ireland the Good News of Jesus Christ, the message that God’s love is unconditional and freely offered to all people. St Patrick was the community builder par excellence! He had the capacity to unite people and bring them together through a bond of shared faith. As a Patrician community (that is, a people inspired by the example of St Patrick) let us do our best to be a united community even in this time of isolation and lockdown.

Obviously, in his day, St Patrick had the advantage of mobility, being able to move from one place to another, setting up Christ-centred communities along the way. And these communities could physically gather together. The question arises, “How would someone like St Patrick go about building communities in today’s circumstances?” Fortunately, we already exist as the St Patrick’s community. Our current challenge is having to work out how we can stay connected to our St Patrick’s community while we cannot physically gather and be in each other’s presence.

Our connectedness to each other starts with us all having the same mindset. We need to remain community-minded. We need to maintain and continue to live out the values we share as a community. As our Mission Statement proclaims, we are a “Christ-centred community, formed in the Good Samaritan tradition” and we exist to “empower young women through holistic education to be independent and resilient lifelong learners who are actively engaged in working for a just society.” This is our common endeavour, it is the focus of our community, and it is that which makes us a community.

From the point of view of the students of St Pat’s, to stay connected to the community is to pursue the goal of being independent and resilient lifelong learners who are instruments of justice in the world. In doing this, no matter where they are, each St Pat’s girl will be bringing to life the essence of our St Patrick’s community. A St Pat’s girl strives to do her best. A St Pat’s girl is respectful, kind, accepting, and compassionate. No matter where they are, St Pat’s girls pursue peace, hospitality, stewardship, and love of Christ and neighbour.  Parents and carers of our girls participate in and are connected to the St Pat’s community by supporting their daughters, and the College as a whole, in helping all stakeholders to realise the College’s mission. The staff remain connected to the St Pat’s community by being the main drivers who work together, even remotely, to accomplish the College’s mission. Alumni, although they are long gone from the grounds of St Pat’s, remain connected to our community because they hold true to the proclamation that “once a St Pat’s girl, always a St Pat’s girl.”

Apart from remaining a connected community through a common mission, we can remain connected through prayer and thoughtfulness. Prayer, whether it be individual or communal, connects us with “the other”. Prayer takes us beyond ourself because prayer is always directed outwards. Prayer is an act of reaching out. Let us pray for one another in this time of disruption and uncertainty. Let us be mindful of the fact that there is an entity called St Patrick’s College and that we are part of that community because we are part of something that is far greater than us as individuals. Collectively, we are the St Patrick’s College community.

Angelo Gattone - Mission Coordinator