A very warm welcome back to our entire community for 2025 and we pray that you had a wonderful and relaxing time over the summer break readying you for all that this year has to offer. We especially welcome all of our new, amazing Year 7 students and the many students who have joined our community in other year levels. I am sure that you have felt one of the hallmarks of Kilbreda College – that of genuine hospitality. Each year at Kilbreda we focus on one of the core values that define us as a school in the Brigidine tradition. These core values – Compassion, Courage, Hope, Hospitality, Justice and Wonder – form the foundation of how we aim to live and work within this community. This year our focus value is Hospitality.

“Christ dwells in every creature.” – St Brigid of Kildare.

St Brigid was famed for her hospitality. Her life and service to the poor, homeless, the sick, the dying, the traveler and those on the margins of society are testimony to her core commitment to saintly virtues of which one was hospitality. Such was her commitment and faith that it created a legacy that has endured for more than 1,500 years. St Brigid’s quote above emphasises how she saw the world, seeing Jesus in all people, creatures and places. Through our Catholic faith, St Brigid served Jesus in all she met including environments and animals. Truly remarkable and how different the world would be if we could see the world in this way too. Perhaps a start is a focus on making all around us ‘welcome’.

It was truly wonderful to see the number of parents and special guests who were able to join us online for the Opening College Eucharist. We were blessed to have Bishop Anthony Ireland and Father Peter Matheson celebrate Mass for us to begin our academic year. Special thanks to Carole Downie for preparing and organising the Mass for the day. Also thank you to Kara-Lee Rabbetts for preparing and leading the amazing Kilbreda Chorale who sang so beautifully and to all throughout the school who worked in the background to ensure it was such a wonderful celebration. We especially thank the Living Justice Leaders, led by Zoe Fitzgerald and Olivia Murphy, for their amazing contribution to the Mass.

It has been a wonderful start to this new school year and special thanks goes to each of you, the students. It is a true joy to see the large and small, seen and unseen ways that you have embraced hospitality and welcome so far this year.

With our focus on Hospitality for the year, we remember also that in the Church, this is a year of Jubilee with the theme of Hope. As you know, Jubilee years are only celebrated every 25 years and are years of special blessing, grace and celebration. Within our parishes and the greater Archdiocese, there are so many different ways to be involved and events to look forward to.  There are plenty of resources available at https://jubileeyear.macs.vic.edu.au/ and https://melbournecatholic.org/  .

As we look forward to the remainder of term with all of its incredible events and opportunities at Kilbreda, particularly in the areas of faith, spirituality and social justice, may we pray and reflect on the Jubilee 2025 Prayer given to us by Pope Francis which is included in our Acting Principal Stephanie Smyths article, remembering that “All are welcome”.

John Riddle

Director of Catholic Identity and Mission

Head of Counselling Services