Faith, Mission & Social Justice

Beyond the classroom, students are supported in developing a meaningful, contemporary connection to their faith through social justice activities, prayer, liturgies, community service and Mercy in action.

Inspired by Catherine McAuley’s courage and determination to educate, empower and serve the poor, students are offered opportunities to engage in activities to support both local and global projects, including the Seeds of Justice conference, leadership days, Bendigo Foodshare, Vinnies, McAuley Family Services, Mercy Works and Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion.

We can never say, ‘it is enough’ is the College theme for 2025.

The quote from Catherine McAuley comes from her Familiar Instructions which were her collection of spiritual guidance and teachings. These instructions are derived from her advice to the Sisters of Mercy.

The phrase We can never say ‘it is enough’ encapsulates her call to constant dedication in living out the works of mercy and following Christ’s example.

“All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.” (Laudato Si’, Paragraph 14)

In Laudato Si': On the Care for our Common Home Pope Francis called us to respond and adopt new ways of living. This challenges our community to work together to contribute to the school’s goal of creating a sustainable future, through the reGEN project.

reGEN is about “caring for our common home”, a principle that underpins everything we do as a community and across all subjects.

reGEN is about understanding that everything is interconnected and that we need to respect and actively care for all aspects of creation, within the Earth’s capacity. This requires fundamental changes to the way we live, act and think on a global level.

As a reGEN School, Catherine McAuley College Bendigo provides the opportunity for students to be immersed in a culture that:

• has environmental and social justice concerns at the forefront of decision-making
• fosters the development of knowledge, skills, habits and the courage to serve our common home
• values concern for nature, justice, society and students’ sense of inner peace

We want students to consider how their actions affect the environment and others, and to work towards correcting imbalances and injustices in our common home. Many of the reGEN policy actions will be implemented by the students this year and into the future.

FIRE Carriers

The FIRE Carrier Project group meets once a month to carry out the actions within the Covenant, and to develop new actions as the College progresses.

FIRE Carrier Covenant

We can never say, ‘It is enough’

The 2025 College theme is We can never say, ‘it is enough’. The quote from Catherine McAuley comes from her Familiar Instructions which were her collection of spiritual guidance and teachings. These instructions are derived from her advice to the Sisters of Mercy.

The phrase “We can never say ‘it is enough’” encapsulates her call to constant dedication in living out the works of mercy and following Christ’s example. The theme is a beautiful stepping stone from last year’s theme of In Mercy we serve.

Sandhurst Diocese