The Opening and Blessing of the Archbishop's Residence 
The opening and blessing of the Archbishop’s Residence went very smoothly and according to plan. Our guests were most impressed with the building and its surrounding gardens. The Parents & Friends had done a great deal of work on the gardens to prepare them for the big day and it certainly met with everyone’s approval. Not surprisingly though, the lasting impression was not of the beautiful gardens and building, it was the quality of our senior students. The prefects and other Year 12 students welcomed our guests and generally looked after them for the afternoon - showing them around the Palace, taking them to their seats, serving food etc. Judging from the many compliments I received, they were excellent ambassadors for the College.
I would like to thank Ms Jacqui Hughes for directing the liturgical aspects of the opening ceremony and Mr Bresnahan and Ms Delaney for preparing the musicians, who played and sang beautifully. Thanks also go to Ms. Smith who, together with her Year 11 Hospitality class, prepared and served lunch for the guests. Drinks were served by a group of mothers from the P & F committee, who came along and did a great deal of work to help with preparation and then stayed behind to help with the clean-up. What would we do without our trusty P & F? Thank you, ladies.
Behind the scenes Mr Gleeson worked his usual minor miracles to ensure that everything went off smoothly - and, thanks to his expertise and hard work, it did. Thanks also go to the office staff who, as usual, did a million and one last minute things to bring the day to fruition. They are a great team and never ever let me down. Well done everybody!
The following is an extract from Bishop Walker’s Blessing who is pictured (left):
The all-knowing God, who is Lord, moves us in many ways to deepen that knowledge of God’s selfwhich God revealed completely when, for our sake the Word was made flesh. All disciplines, sciences, and teaching about the world and about human life, that we pursue, must have as their final purpose to bring us to a knowledge of the truth and to the worship of the true God. Today we ask God’s blessing on the former Archbishop’s residence as the new Administration centre of St Paul’s Catholic College. May it truly be a centre for the seeking, learning, and teaching of the truth. We ask that those entrusted with the education of our young men, here at St Paul’s, may teach their students how to join the discoveries of human wisdom with the truth of the Gospel, so that they will be able to keep the true faith and to live up to it in their lives. We also ask the Lord that the students will find in their teachers the image of Christ, so that, enriched with both human and divine learning, they will in turn be able and ready to enlighten and assist others.
Andrew Martin
Principal
