Pastoral Centre Belfast is back

Buíochas le Dia (Thank God). September 1st saw Glanaulin Pastoral Centre return to full face-to-face operation. Our hearts were cheered by the sound of the boys from St Mary’s Christian Brothers Grammar School returning to the centre.

Firstly we had the Year 8 pupils building friendships in their new school. They’ve had a difficult time with education split between school and home, leaving their primary schools with little fuss and receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation in different, though nonetheless reverent, circumstances.

As with all first year pupils they were busy making new friends and getting to grips with the big new school, eager and keen.  The Year 11 students visited us in early October towards the end of the Season of Creation and with the upcoming COP26, were appreciating the beauty of the world around them while acknowledging their responsibilities to it.

Their retreat encourages pupils to reflect on social justice based on Pope Francis’ ‘Laudato Si’ encyclical, listening to ‘the cry of the earth, the cry of the poor’.  It was heart-warming how the boys understood the global difficulties created by our consumerist greed and how we need to strive to live in harmony with God’s creation. 

We finished off the half term with the Sacred Heart Boys’ Primary School. These P.7 boys were full of beans, lots of questions and hardly waiting for the answers. A big question as always, was ‘Will we meet the Brothers and what are they like?’ In the safe knowledge that the Brothers were away to Mass, they settled down to the business of what makes a good friend, just like them!

The images show some of the artwork created by the students.