World Youth Day

Campus Ministry

Trinity and Mercedes prepare for World Youth Day

On Friday 28 March, Trinity and Mercedes made a powerful impact as students marched along Hay Street to Trinity College. It was a wonderful sight, reminiscent of the days of processions for St Patrick’s Day or the Feast of Christ the King as five hundred Trinity boys and eight hundred Mercedes College girls made a mini pilgrimage to Trinity College to celebrate a combined Trinity College/Mercedes College Mass and blessing of student pilgrims heading to Sydney for World Youth Day (WYD) in July. The procession was an impressive sight as it entered the College main gates escorted in true Trinity tradition by the Trinity Pipes and Drums. Bishop Don Sproxton was the celebrant and spoke to the students about the importance of WYD. All students at the Mass received one of the personal Celtic crosses as a memento of WYD 2008.The crosses were engraved with an iconic image of Mary – reminding us of the WYD Cross and Icon. Trinity Pipes and Drums formed a guard of honour through which the official party entered Centenary Park. The combined choir made the Mass special with beautiful singing.

The celebration worked on many levels. It was an important team builder for the Sydney WYD pilgrims as fellow students, teachers, parents, Sisters of Mercy and Christian Brothers blessed them and their pilgrimage. It was a huge crowd. Altogether there were about 2000 students and also parents and staff from both colleges. After Mass the students shared morning recess and enjoyed food served by Trinity and Mercedes College mothers.

World Youth Day

In the last school holidays 27 students from Years 11 and 12 and seven staff members set off on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Sydney. We started our journey in Canberra, where we went to the National War Memorial and to old and new Parliament House. We then ventured by coach, after two nights’ stay in Canberra, to Jamberoo Abbey in the mountains of New South Wales. It was here that we were told by one of the nuns that often pilgrims don’t fully realise just why they chose to come to World Youth Day. However she assured us that by the end of our pilgrimage, through God’s guidance, we would understand why we made the decision to be part of this wonderful event.

Throughout the week we participated in many youth festivals and celebrations. At the opening Mass, celebrated by Cardinal Pell, 150,000 young people were in attendance. I had never seen so many youth in one place. I met people from Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia, each of them excited, interesting and easy to talk to. We attended daily catechesis sessions and had fun spending time meeting new people whilst wandering around Circular Quay. We enjoyed watching the Pope arrive onboard a boat and seeing him drive by in the papal motorcade. The experience of the re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross was amazing. On the Saturday we walked to Randwick Race Course along the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where we were amongst 400,000 other pilgrims who enjoyed the evening vigil, concert, sleep-out and the final Mass in the morning. These last two days were undoubtedly a high-point of the trip. To be surrounded by so many other people and to participate in a Mass celebrated by the Pope was sensational.

However, it wasn’t until the final days of the pilgrimage that I truly understood what the nuns had told us and why I had come to World Youth Day. I realised that throughout the trip I had met new people from all over the world, developed new friendships, strengthened old ones, had grown closer to God and developed a deeper understanding of what it is to be a modern day Catholic. This was the reason why I had come to World Youth Day. As a whole the pilgrimage was an amazing experience and will be something that I will never forget.

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

KAIROS #18

Our Year 12s are encouraged to make one of three Kairos Retreats throughout the school year. Held at Moore River, it is a four day voluntary residential retreat. KAIROS is a religious retreat program grounded in Christian incarnational theology. It is an experience of Christian community with a series of talks given by students and adults. Prayer and the sacraments are an essential part of the program as well as the participants’ involvement in discussions and other exercises.

KAIROS #19

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

KAIROS #20

For me, the Kairos #20 Retreat was a worthwhile, eyeopening experience and one I truly recommend.

Firstly, throughout the course of the Retreat students were given the opportunity to develop new friendships, whilst also strengthening old ones. Kairos has allowed those who attended to develop meaningful relationships, far deeper than the ones that we are accustomed to at school. The Retreat encourages us to look beyond the face-value of our classmates, rather than cast judgment or simply pigeonhole them. Thus ultimately, Kairos is a retreat that promotes a sense of solidarity and community throughout the College, and is why I found it so very rewarding. I also found the Retreat to be a really enjoyable experience. The four days were spent away, four days in which I was able to relax and collect my thoughts. It was a much needed break from the tediousness of everyday school life.

Kairos #20 proved to be a truly fulfilling and rewarding experience, and one that I recommend to all students.

Joe Calabro

For me, Kairos #20 was an amazing and fulfilling experience that also served as a much needed break from what can be an incredibly stressful time during the final year of high school education. It allowed us to take a break from our normal routines and escape all the distractions that exist in our lives, to get a better understanding of the relationships we have with our friends, our family, our school community and ourselves; all in a way that involved balanced genuinely fun times with periods of reflection.

The Kairos Retreat would definitely be one of the highlights of my time at Trinity and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is considering an application.

Alex Malkovic

KAIROS #21

Tabgha Retreat

Quest Retreat

The TABGHA Retreat is a oneday retreat. Our senior students are given the opportunity to reflect on their personal relationship with Jesus and encouraged to deepen and enrich that relationship through different styles of prayer.

The QUEST Retreat is held at the beginning of each year - on the Saturday and Sunday of the Labour Day weekend. It is a non-residential retreat. The QUEST Retreat is a student-led retreat combining offcampus with on-campus group activities.

IMAGINETHE POSSIBILITIES

Year 12 and Year 11 Peer Ministers guide the Year 8s through discussions, Mass and various activities intended to help them develop class unity, friendships among one another, and a more active relationship with God.

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

PEER MINISTERS

Back Row: Dylan Murray, Anthony Erskine, Liam Cave, Kyle Versteeg, Redmond Dobson, Benjamin Usher, Thomas McCormick, Luke Middleton, Tom Lillywhite, Reece Conca Fifth Row: Mr Ken O’Neil (Quest Retreat Coordinator), Luke Carton, Parker Matthews, Joshua McLaughlan, Simon Natoli, Jonathon Papalia, Taylor Colton, Alexander Murphy, Giles Taylor, Tommas Di Fulvio, Benn Papalia, Mr Leo Murray Fourth Row: James Hunt, James Porteous, Bodie D’Orazio, Aden Bourke, Jake Withers, Maximilian Tandy, Jack Dart, Graham D’Mello, Matthew Golightly, Andrew Hortin, Francis Main Third Row: Julian Serra, Jordan Di Lello, Sean Taggart, Jack McIver, Alexander Barbas, James Whelan, Jakeb Norman, Dylan Hindle, Bronson Chabros, Ciaran Johns Second Row: Mr Brendan Chapman (Quest Retreat Assistant Coordinator), Samuel O’Connell, David Pearson, Brodie Barden, Thomas Prior, Eugene Stewart, Francis Baptist, Dylan Caddy, Nicholas Brown, Reece Garlett, Dylan McPherson, Nicholas Monisse Front Row: Mitchell Isailovic, James Marocchi, Thomas Crowther, Nestor Zimmermann, Dylan Dewsbury, Andrew Phillips, Nicholas Mountain, Simon Poli, Michael Kirk Absent: Trent Hackett, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Mallon

QUEST CADRE Back Row: Mr Ken O’Neil

(Quest Retreat Coordinator), Christian Ruggiero, Nicholas Buckley, Robert McKenna, Joshua Hicks, Luke Mancini, Mr Leo Murray Front Row: Julian Sieber, Ryan Platts, Harvey Fernandes, Israel Ostle, Stuart Love, Keaton Wheeler, Benjamin Tomasi, Gerard Rosario Absent: Andrew Stroud

QUEST ROADIES

Back Row: John Malkovic, Luke Screaigh, Jack Connelly, Nicholas McKenna, Liam Gale, Michael Hart Third Row: Kristen Di Gregorio, Alexander Guglielmino, Andrew Morgan, Alesandro D’Angelo, Luke Geiles, Samuel McMeikan

Second Row: Mr Ken O’Neil (Quest

Retreat Coordinator), Patrick Tomasi, Jehan Muthu-Krishna, Thomas Bilske, Luke Pardini, Jesse Rogers, Thomas Metcalf, Mr Leo Murray Front Row: Julian Bordoni, Luke Randazzo, Daniel Tassone, Fraser McInnes, Ethan Hampton, Michael Cotellessa, Alexander Ambrogio

Voluntary Christian Service

EDMUND RICE OUTREACH GROUP

Back Row: Mrs Marya Stewart, Stuart Love, Jehan Muthu-Krishna, Christian Ruggiero (President), Joshua Hicks, Tom Lillywhite, Matthew Rechichi, John Malkovic Front Row: Stefan Scampoli, Gerard Rosario, Luke Randazzo, Patrick Tomasi, Benjamin Tomasi (Vice President), Ethan Hampton, Ian Chia Absent: Luke Mancini, Parker Matthews, James Whelan, Jake Withers

SPECIAL MINISTERS OF THE EUCHARIST

Back Row: David Chua, Andrew Gotti, Joshua Hicks, Matthew Cowie, Corbin Mondy, Robert McKenna, Alexander Malkovic Second Row: Mr Leo Murray, Jim Colreavy, Joshua Bunter, Christian Ruggiero, Vincent Jusko, Emmett Bray, Israel Ostle Front Row: Ian Chia, Gerard Rosario, Thomas Coates, Harvey Fernandes, Paul Duong, Benjamin Tomasi, Paolo Di Bucci Absent: Samuel Hill, Daniel Matthys, Julian Sieber Campus Ministry