The word charism, in the tradition of the Church, refers to spiritual gifts used for the service of the whole community. These gifts or graces of the Holy Spirit are given to individuals and groups for the sake of others.
A Catholic Christian school draws upon this rich heritage of spiritual gifts to formulate its own unique way of being and giving service to all. The central influence on the charism of any school is the person of Jesus Christ. All charisms seek to provide a pathway through which a school community might interpret and give voice to the centrality of Jesus Christ.
Schools draw inspiration and direction from the stories of how their founding religious congregation, patron saint or significant people in the school's history exemplified particular gifts of the Spirit in living out the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(The Religious Education Curriculum P-12 Archdiocese of Brisbane, 2020, p208).
In responding to the needs of the community, we at St Mary's Primary School, draw from the model and examples of the Mercy Sisters led by Catherine McAuley and the Christian Brothers formed by Edmund Rice. Our school's charism is lived through using our gifts for others in service, welcome, compassion and education.
Our staff and students continually strive to make Jesus real and are reminded through the Mercy Sisters and the Christian Brothers to be the best that we can be and to make Jesus real in the lives of those around us.