Catholic Schools Week

"Let us thank all those who teach in Catholic schools. Educating is an act of love; it is like giving life."

~ Pope Francis ~

Catholic Schools Week is celebrated at the end of January. It is an all-Ireland annual event which invites Catholic schools to give expression in a special way to the ethos of Catholic education. It is a celebration of Catholic schools which acknowledges the tremendous contribution that our Catholic primary and post-primary schools make not just to Irish society, but to the mission of the Church. Each year has a different theme and each day during the school week has its own theme.

Catholic Schools Week

2027

17th - 23rd January

The theme

is

‘Inviting Encounter, Belonging, Purpose ’

Our Catholic Schools Start With an Invitation

Our Catholic schools in Ireland begin with a special invitation. Jesus invites us to be His friend. He invites us to be friends with God, who is love. And He invites us into a community — a school family where we help each other find meaning and purpose in our lives. We live out this invitation every day through:

• caring for each other

• talking and listening

• thinking and praying together

• and in our everyday prayers, Mass, and Sacraments

An Invitation to Meet Jesus, Each Other, and Everyone

Our schools are built on this invitation — to meet Jesus more deeply, to meet each other with kindness, and to meet the wider world with an open heart.

This invitation is personal, just for you, and it is for all of us together. In our schools we treat everyone with dignity, respect, and openness.

We share the good news of the Gospel. We invite people into it, we never force it. We have honest conversations that are full of truth and love. We invite every child and every family — of all faiths and all ways of seeing the world — to learn, to meet one another, and to help others together.

Learning to Talk and Listen in a Diverse World

We live in a world with lots of different beliefs, cultures, and ways of thinking.

Our Catholic schools are brave enough to have those conversations, and respectful enough to really listen. We believe all people are one big human family. We honour everyone who is sincerely searching for what is true, and we try to show the Gospel in what we say and what we do.

This helps our children to be confident in who they are, and open to learning from others. It helps them to be kind, fair, and caring in our diverse world.

“Open wide the doors to Christ.”

St John Paul II

Catholic Schools Week Themes

2016

Challenged to Proclaim God’s Mercy

2017

Learning with Pope Francis to Care for Our Common Home

2018

Called to be a Family of Families

2019

Celebrating the Work of Our Local Catholic Schools

2020

Living in Harmony with God’s Creation

2021

Faith, Excellence, Service

2022

Living Life to the Full

2023

Walking Together in Faith and Love

2024

Communities of Service

2025

Alive in Christ!

2026

Normal Lives, Called to Holiness

2027

Inviting Encounter, Belonging, Purpose

Catholic schools are intrinsically connected with the local parish community, and each of these actively serves the other. It is important to acknowledge and celebrate the living connection that exists between school and parish during Catholic Schools Week. Catholic Schools Week provides an opportunity for both communities to pray for one another and with one another. Each year, our school will attend Mass in St Mary’s Church during Catholic Schools Week.