Multifaith events unite at Blackfriars
Schools
Pancakes and spring rolls were on the menu as Blackfriars Priory School students came together to mark two significant celebrations.
On Tuesday February 17, Blackfriars observed Shrove Tuesday with a whole-school pancake feast. On the same day, the school’s International students gathered for a special lunch to celebrate Lunar New Year.
And on Wednesday February 18, also Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent, the school’s Muslim community marked the start of Ramadan – the sacred month of fasting, reflection and spiritual growth.
Director of Development Patrick Kelly and international student Kiu Yan (Quintus) Leung, 17, mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year.
While Lent and Ramadan occasionally fall within days of one another, an exact same-day beginning is rare and has occurred only a handful of times over the past several centuries.
Assistant principal: Religious Identity and Mission, Angela Collins (pictured), said marking Shrove Tuesday, Lunar New Year, the start of Lent and Ramadan within two days was a powerful reminder of what it meant to be a Catholic school in today’s world.
“As a Catholic community, our identity is grounded in the Gospel,” Ms Collins said.
“That foundation gives us the confidence to honour and celebrate the faith traditions present within our community, while remaining authentically Catholic.”
She said multifaith celebrations were not about diluting identity, but strengthening it.
“When we acknowledge and support the religious traditions of our students and families, we are living out the Church’s call to dialogue, respect and human dignity,” she said.
“Our Catholic identity calls us to be people of encounter; to listen, to learn and to walk alongside one another. This is particularly relevant in this year of the Synod, where dialogue helps to form our church community.
“In a world too often marked by division, the shared observance of Lent and Ramadan invites a quiet kind of strength – prayer, simplicity, generosity and mercy. We need to actively seek our commonalities rather than leaning into our fear of the unknown, of the other.”
Last year, Ms Collins presented at the 15th International Conference on Religion and Spirituality in Society, in Rome.
Her paper – Fostering Inclusivity and Empathy in Multifaith Classrooms – has since been published in the International Journal of Diversity in Education.
Blackfriars has more than 20 boys from countries including China, Vietnam, Hong Kong and South Korea in its International Student Program and many more domestic students from Asian backgrounds.
It is also home to a number of Muslim students, with many fasting for Ramadan.
