Dear Family and Friends of OLSH College,

As this term draws to a close, we celebrate two ground-breaking journeys for our OLSH community. Nearly 40 students and staff are currently in China, exploring Beijing, Shanghai, Wuzhen and Hangzhou. Their itinerary includes cultural highlights such as the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square, as well as experiences like the bullet train, a Chinese acrobatic performance, and a visit to St Ignatius Cathedral.

At the same time, a smaller group of staff and members of the wider OLSH community is undertaking a pilgrimage to Issoudun, France - the spiritual home of the OLSH Sisters. Retracing the steps of Father Jules Chevalier, they will journey from his birthplace in Richelieu, to Bourges where he studied and was ordained, and finally to Issoudun where he founded the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 151 years ago. This pilgrimage is a fitting conclusion to our year of celebrating the OLSH Sisters’ 150th anniversary, and we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to honour this milestone in such a meaningful way.

Last Friday’s Feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was a joyful lead-in to these special experiences. With the theme Oceans Apart, Together at Heart, our students continued their leadership focus on spreading the ripple of kindness and compassion throughout our community. That spirit was evident in the generous donations, as well as the wonderful support for our Feast Day carnival, auction and raffles. We were overjoyed to raise a record-breaking $30,160 for the work of the OLSH Sisters’ overseas projects. Thank you to all families and our community for your generosity on this special day.  

As we see in this reflection from Claud Heriault msc about Jules Chevalier, the generosity and willingness to help others shown by our OLSH community on Feast Day is deeply connected to the early days of Fr Jules work. 

"The poor knew (Fr. Chevalier's) charity and the kindness of his heart. They used to come constantly knocking at his door. They knew they would not be refused...How many families...have been supported by his open-handed generosity..."
(Claude Heriault MSC, Notes sur le TR.P. Chevalier. Ms. p.10) 

Always united in our shared OLSH Spirit.

Anne O'Loughlin
Principal