Life in the Spirit

St. Mary’s is a Catholic school under the patronage of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, also known as the Holy Ghost Order or Spiritans. We have kept close links with the Spiritans, at home and abroad, who maintain a Community at the heart of the College.

Faith development plays a central part in the life of the College. Boys have formal instruction in religious education, three classes per week for their six years here, and access to the sacraments through class Masses and confessions. College Masses, attended by boys from First Communion to Leaving Certificate, are celebrated on the major feast days of the year.

The Spiritans are a missionary order and we have strong links with the developing world. We fundraise extensively for projects overseas and offer students the opportunity to visit our fellow Spiritans in Ghana on an Immersion Visit, during which they spend one week as secondary school students in a local school, and one week as primary school teaching assistants.