On Friday 21 August, Casimir College Marrickville hosted a Divine Mercy Night for students across Sydney Catholic schools. It was great to see around 260 students from the schools across the diocese gathering to pray. The night was a fantastic opportunity to immerse students in the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and get a real sense of the history and tradition behind this devotion within our Church. In particular, the message and the devotional practices of the Divine Mercy were a great opportunity for preparing the WYD16 pilgrims for their journey to Krakow, Poland.
Vanessa Penitani (Youth Ministry Coordinator) and Milad Khalil (RE teacher) from Casimir College organised and led the evening. Their efforts in preparing such an informative and powerful experience was greatly appreciated by all who attended.
The evening began with students and staff gathering for a meal and conversation, hosted by the wonderful staff from Marrickville Casimir. The presentation of the evening for the Divine Mercy commenced with an interactive opportunity to know more about the Eastern European country where the Divine Mercy originated. Poland has played a crucial part in the history and landscape of modern day Europe, and students received a real deepening of their awareness of the Polish culture and traditions. Milad Khalil gave a very informative presentation on the Divine Mercy Chaplet as revealed to St. Faustina of Poland and the overwhelming influence it had with the pontificate of Pope St John Paul II. Students and staff certainly were amazed at the powerful connections and significance of such a devotion in the Church.
Fr Kevin Tuitu’u gave a moving blessing of the Divine Chaplet packs provided for all students and staff attending. The gathering was guided through a very reverent and humbling experience of the Divine Chaplet by Vanessa Penitani, Milad Khalil and students from Marrickville.
A very grateful thank you to Mr. Daniel McInerney (Principal) and Mrs Joanne McGrath (Religious Education Coordinator) for allowing the evening to take place, and to all the staff that assisted with this special event. Thanks to our Youth Ministry Coordinators from the individual schools present who organised and supported the participation of their students.