Bishop Deenihan to open Catholic Schools Week with livestream Mass

• Representatives of Schola Cantorum to provide music during the celebration of Mass from the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar

Catholic Schools Week 2022 will be celebrated in parishes across the island from Sunday January 23 to Sunday January 30, and the theme this year is: ‘Catholic Schools: Living Life to the Full’.

To formally open Catholic Schools Week, Bishop Tom Deenihan of Meath, chair of the Catholic Education Service and a member of the Bishops Council for Education, will celebrate Mass on Sunday January 23 at 11am.

The liturgy will include musicians from Schola Cantorum at St Finian’s Diocesan College. There will also be participation in the Mass from the Loreto Secondary School and Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar.

Bishop Deenihan said: “Every year, Catholic Schools Week assumes a greater importance for our local school community and parish. Our Catholic schools prepare their students for this world but also try to convey a sense of the Kingdom of God and the world to come.

“Catholic schools are renowned for the academic education that they offer their students. Equally, such schools contribute to society by encouraging the full development of their student’s talents. It is also true that many of these schools, particularly at post-primary level, are involved in social outreach projects that contribute to local communities.

“The last few years have illustrated the potential that students have to influence public policy and debate and to change the world for the better, making it a kinder, more inclusive and more welcoming place.

“That has been particularly true in relation to ecology and protecting the environment, a key message of Pope Francis and a theme of previous Catholic Schools Weeks.

“As we participate in Catholic Schools Week this year, we celebrate, in a special way, our following of the teaching of Jesus by living life to the full through our thoughts, words and actions. In doing so, we follow the words of Jesus in John’s Gospel: ‘I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full’,” Bishop Deenihan said.

The full suite of #CSW2022 resources for primary and post-primary are now available on www.catholicschools.ie. Each resource explores the five daily themes of Catholic Schools Week:

Monday – Living Life to the Full with God

Tuesday – Living Life to the Full Together

Wednesday (Grandparents Day) – Celebrating Being Together Again

Thursday – Living Life in Wonder and Awe

Friday – Living Life and Facing the Future

• This Mass will be livestreamed on https://www.mullingarparish.ie/livestream from the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar

• Established in 1970, the Schola Cantorum operates as a miniature music conservatoire at St Finian’s College, Mullingar.

Its purpose is to provide a specialised music education for girls and boys in parallel with their normal secondary school studies.

The Schola is an initiative of the Diocese of Meath and the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference, see www.scholacantorum.ie.