Faith Life

A Community of Faith

As a community we continue the development of a culture that is in harmony with Catholic tradition, the charism of Mary Ward and the heritage of Loreto. At the heart of Loreto Kirribilli is a community grounded in the Gospels.

We encourage our students to:

Through social justice, student leadership, our Pastoral Program and our liturgical life, we promote and encourage respect and responsibility.

Liturgical Life

The School’s liturgical life is an integral part of our identity as a Catholic school. Whole school celebrations and other liturgical experiences occur on a regular basis throughout the school year. In so many ways our students, parents and staff are given the opportunity to experience prayer and liturgy and are enriched through our Ignatian Spirituality and Mary Ward Charism.

Prayer
A variety of prayer experiences are offered at the School and include: liturgies to mark the Church’s liturgical year and to bring every celebration in our School year into a context of prayer; contemplative stillness as we Drop Everything And Reflect(DEAR); each Friday before School Masses and the class Masses throughout the year; daily Circle Class prayer; House liturgies; and our prayer together at assemblies and prayer in the classroom.

Students are immersed in an enlivening liturgical rhythm and are encouraged to see prayer as the source and context of all they do. The school has a strong tradition of student-led prayer and liturgy and in Year 11 and 12 students are given the opportunity to become Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Many senior students take up this ministry for the Church, a gift that they can share not only with our own community but with their local parish.

Feast Days
Major feast days and special events are celebrated within a Eucharist across the whole school community from Kindergarten to Year 12. Other Eucharistic celebrations occur according to the liturgical calendar and may be celebrated with differing year groups.

Celebration of the Eucharist
Each Friday morning we celebrate Mass, a chance to reflect on our school week and pray for guidance. Year Group and Circle Class Masses are held across the Term.

Community Masses
Masses, liturgies and prayer are an integral part of life in the Senior and Junior School. Mothers' Day Mass, Fathers' Day Mass, and Parent/Daughter Masses provide an opportunity for students, staff and parents to come together as a community to celebrate their faith and Loreto traditions.

A number of non-Eucharistic liturgies are also celebrated at significant times throughout the year. These range in structure and form.

May Day
It is a Loreto Kirribilli tradition to honour the patron of our school, Mary, Mother of God, during the month of May. Mother Gonzaga Barry wrote about this tradition in her homeland, Ireland, where children gathered flowers from the fields to decorate shrines dedicated to Mary. May Day, with its song-filled liturgy, flowers and procession, includes a customary procession laying flowers in front of the Statue of Our Lady at school. The youngest student in the school places the crown of flowers on the statue of Mary, under the watchful eye of the Senior School Captain.

Sacraments of Initiation

As part of our students' religious education, our Junior School girls are introduced to the sacraments of Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation.

Faith Enrichment Opportunities

All students from Years 7 to 12 participate in the Retreat Program. Students in Year 8 have a school-based program which focuses on their relationships with God, their families and each other.

Year 11 and 12 students attend a retreat at the beginning of each year. The purpose of retreat is to lead participants to an increased awareness of themselves, and to a greater intimacy with their peers and God.

The retreat is God's time or Kairos time. Young people who decide to give of themselves in a retreat are opening themselves in a special way to God's influence. This influence is manifested in different ways according to each individual's life and background.

Parent Formation

As part of the Loreto community, every parent shares in the mission of the Loreto Sisters – a mission that is grounded in the service of faith and the promotion of justice.

As companions with the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Loreto parents are invited to travel on a journey with St Ignatius and Mary Ward, seeking and finding God in all things – in every moment of the day, in every event, large or small, in their life.

We believe that through an understanding of Ignatian spirituality, parents can come to know God and Jesus Christ more closely, more clearly, more deeply.

The following opportunities are offered to parents and friends each year: