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Bishop leads St Conaire’s in prayer

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 Kieran O’Reilly, Bishop of Killaloe, speaking on his visit to St Conaire’s National School.  Photograph by Declan MonaghanBISHOP Kieran O’Reilly was at St Conaire’s on Tuesday  for the launch of a new prayer initiative.
The school has published a pocket-sized prayer booklet for its pupils. It is entitled Prayers go up, Blessings go down and it contains a reflection for each day of the week along with a piece of scripture. The booklet is child friendly and designed to support the work of parents, the parish and the school.
Headmaster Peter Walsh said the decision to proceed with the initiative came about following dialogue among teachers. “It came from staff discussions about prayers in the school and we then worked with the parish, so it’s a combination of the staff and the parish.”
He said the school still retains a Catholic ethos, although it caters for children from various backgrounds. “We are a Catholic school but we do have children from all faiths and none. We think it’s very important for those that do profess the Catholic faith that we do help them with their faith formation in whatever way possible.”
Parish priest Father Tom Ryan welcomed the initiative. “We work in co-operation with the school and the initiative has come from the school and got support from the parish team, the pastoral council and I, as chaplain and Peter as principal would have been involved in the formation. All the teachers selected prayers along with the pupils and formulated this prayer initiative.”
Bishop Kieran O’Reilly said the document can be used in the pupil’s homes. “I think it’s wonderful the school can prepare for the children and it’s also something they can carry home, bring home to their families and maybe use at home during the season of Lent.”
At the launch, Martin Moore of the school’s board of management said the school is thriving. “It’s a very large school and it has retained the uniqueness and depth of thought that could get lost in a school of this size.”
He said times are challenging in a number of ways and that in challenging time “you need to have a vision for where you want to go and where you are at and that is very evident in St Conaire’s”.
Mr Moore said it is the first time such a prayer booklet has been launched and that it was a historic day.

 

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