Sixteen seminarians of the archdiocese have been commissioned on 23 March to serve in Sydney Catholic primary schools as part of the 2018 Seminarians in Schools Program. It is the largest cohort of seminarians ever commissioned – to the delight of Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS).
According to Robert Haddad, head of SCS’ New Evangelisation team, the program is already very popular. “The principals love the program. Demand is very high and always exceeds the number (of seminarians) we have,” he told The Catholic Weekly.
“The seminarians are also very excited to get involved in the schools.”
Seminarians in Schools commences on May 4 in eight primary schools and will proceed every Friday until the end of the school year. Seminarians in the program will teach religious education each week, and participate in school excursions and staff events.
The diversity of the participants, in their second year of formation, range from home-grown seminarians to seminarians from Africa and Asia. Previously seminarians completed and passed three-week preparation courses with the SCS office. The program is an opportunity for children to learn about the religious life and the Catholic faith first-hand.
Schools receiving seminarians are Holy Spirit, Carnes Hill, All Hallows, Five Dock, Our Lady of Fatima, Kingsgrove, St Therese, Lakemba, St Andrew’s, Malabar, St Joseph’s Moorebank, St Martha’s, Strathfield, and Sacred Heart Villawood.
