Catholic Schools Week 2017 was marked in the Diocese of Kilmore on the theme ‘Catholic Schools: Learning with Pope Francis to care for our common home’.
As part of the week-long celebrations in the diocese a special Mass was celebrated in Saint Aidan’s Church, Butlersbridge, Co Cavan. Bishop Leo O’Reilly, Bishop of Kilmore, was the principal celebrant for the Mass which was attended by representatives from each school in the diocese. Father Paul Connell, Principal of Saint Finian’s College Mullingar spoke to the students present at the Mass and shared with them the importance of faith in their journey through life.
The theme chosen for the Mass was about looking after the environment, which echoed the overall theme for Catholic Schools Week 2017 which was inspired by Laudato Si’, the 2015 encyclical letter from Pope Francis.
During the Mass trees were blessed and a school representative received one to take back and plant in the grounds of their school. 
Catholic Schools Week is an annual all-Ireland celebration which invites schools to give expression in an exceptional way to the ethos of Catholic education. Catholic Schools Week also acknowledges the tremendous contribution that our Catholic primary and post-primary schools make, not just to Irish society, but to the mission of the Church.
ENDS
