Our School theme for 2025 is Instilling Hope. We have been inspired by Hope for two reasons. Firstly, The Catholic Church this year celebrates a Jubilee Year – every 25 years. A Jubilee Year is a special time for the Church, as it is a time for renewal, reflection and grace. For this Jubilee Year – Pope Francis is calling us to all be Pilgrims of Hope. Secondly, Mercy Catholic College is celebrating 135 years. Our school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters engaged actively in the communities they touched, they made incredible and significant contributions to health care, education and social work within Australia and other parts of the world. In all of the communities they engaged and impacted, they INSTILLED HOPE. The Sisters of Mercy put their values into action and made a commitment for change. That is what we are going to do this year – instill Hope and make change.

How are we going to do that? 

By putting our values of Respect, Hospitality, Compassion, Excellence and Integrity into action.

Hope can be defined as the desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment, an expectation of success, Hope has elements of trust.

In the Old Testament hope is linked with “putting confidence in” or “taking refuge in.” In Paul’s letters he highlights the relationship between trust and hope. Paul also links hope and boldness (2 Cor 3:12 ).

In Hebrews courage and hope (3:6) are entwined, Paul also links hope and boldness. However, Jesus is seen as the embodiment of hope, he offers a path to eternal life and the Kingdom of God.