will take place with the Assistant
Principals and
RECs of each of the schools.
The existence of such gatherings is more a response to the requests of the leadership teams of the schools than something that had been proposed by the Patrician leadership team.  At the conference
which has just taken place at the Christian Brothers' Conference Centre
at Mulgoa, there were four main sessions. Firstly, each of the
Principals shared a short report on how the Patrician charism is being
continued at their school. Br Jerome Ellens, Superior General of the Patrician
Brothers, gave a presentation on the Brothers' work in Kenya and India.
Br Stephen Sweetman then informed the Principals and attending Brothers
of a new section on the Patrician website
which contains a variety of Patrician resources
and they were shown a DVD being made by Stephen on the history of the
Brothers in
Australia. Br Aengus Kavanagh, Provincial, led a session on the
bi-centenary celebrations to take place in 2008. (Photo: Br Jerome addressing the
conference.)A major event which took place was the launching of the "Patrician Belief Statement" for the Patrician-linked schools. This was first proposed and then carried through by Mr Garry Williams, Principal of Holy Cross College, Ryde. It was discussed and developed by the Principals, the Brothers, and school staffs, over a period of more than a year.  Mr Garry Williams presents Br Aengus Kavanagh (Provincial) with a copy of the Belief Statement in bookmark format This statement will now act as a uniting guide among the schools with a Patrician heritage to work towards proclaiming the Kingdom in today's world. As with all such gatherings, while all recognised the importance and value of the sessions presented, you cannot over-estimate the value of just having the opportunity of coming together as a group who have a common goal to share ideas and experiences and to develop and strengthen links and friendships. From the viewpoint of the Brothers, to be with such committed, professional, and compassionate men such as these lay Principals is a great source of inspiration and encouragement as they realise that the Patrician message is in such exceptional and authentic hands.
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