Year 13 Leavers Mass

Fr Paul Grogan, Vocations Director for the Diocese of Leeds, celebrated the Yr13 Leavers Mass this year. In his homily, he spoke of every one searching for the right path to follow in their lives, guided by the principles they had learned at St Wilfrid’s (he hoped that some might consider a religious vocation as their future path !). Fr Paul is also chaplain at Trinity & All Saints College in Leeds.
The picture shows the readers in the mass. Names of the students are (l-r in order) : Michael Cahill, Stacey Hickling, Nick Brown, Amie Senkiw, and Oliver Hill.

Year 7 Reconciliation Service

On Thursday 15th March 2007, all members of Year 7 were given the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as part of the school’s Lenten preparation. The School theme for the year is “Back to the Father” which ties in well with the theme of “Repentance and Reconciliation” for the second year of the Diocese of Leeds Come and See renewal process.

At the start of the morning, there was a reconciliation service for all of Year 7, led by Mr Russell, with readings by members of 7Fisher. Students were reminded of the story of the Prodigal Son, and of the importance of the Sacrament. After the service, four of our local priests, Canon Maguire, Fr McGeough, Fr Reilly and Fr Powell spent the morning at school, hearing confessions from students. The priests said afterwards that they were impressed with the honesty of the students, and the way that they had been prepared to receive the sacrament.

Sold on e-pray!

On Monday 12th February, a new initiative is starting at St Wilfrid’s Catholic High School, to ensure that all classes are able to start the day with prayer. The initiative, entitled ‘E-pray’, will mean that all staff will receive a daily e-mail with a prayer relating to the prayer theme of the week. The prayers will be incorporated into the regular start of day routine that takes place during the first lesson of the day.

Mrs Gilroy, Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Chaplaincy, said that following research among staff and students aimed at ensuring that regular collective worship was taking place at school, it was clear that having a morning focus based around the theme of the week would enable prayer to take place more regularly and more effectively.

E-pray follows on from the School prayer book, which is produced on a half-termly basis to assist Form Tutors and Heads of Year in organising collective worship during afternoon tutorials and assemblies.


Phil Russell
Lay Chaplian

Same, but different

The events of the Holocaust, where the Nazis killed 6 million Jewish people during the Second World War, were once again commemorated at St Wilfrid’s Catholic High School this year. During assemblies throughout the week leading up to Holocaust Memorial Day on Saturday January 27th, the students were told about how racial discrimination by the Nazis led to them believing that all those considered inferior should be killed.

During the services, students read poems from Holocaust survivors, and listened to the stories of those who kept the Jewish faith alive during those dark days. They were challenged to think about injustice in our society today, and about how the differences between people should be celebrated. Pictured right Michael and Jake White in Year 11 who are identical twins to reflect the idea of same but different.
The services, which featured images provided by the Holocaust Memorial Trust, and appropriate contemporary music, were held in a respectful silence, as students reflected thoughtfully on the events of the Holocaust, and the actions they should take to make sure it never happens again.

After the services, students created a display of their fingerprints in the R.E. Department, to symbolise their diversity and their unity.

Phil Russell
Lay Chaplain

St Wilfrid’s Day Mass 2006

The St Wilfrid’s Day Mass is our greatest opportunity to come together in prayer and worship as a school community. This year, our theme was “Back to the Father.” This theme focuses our thoughts on the Christian ideas of repentance and reconciliation.
During the entrance of students to Mass, the “Paradise Steel Band”, a steel drum band played a number of Gospel based hymns. Before Mass began, Miss Birkett’s dance group performed an interpretation to two songs which related to the theme of our Mass. The Mass was lead by Fr Simon Lodge who during his homily on the Gospel of the Prodigal Son spoke with knowledge and humour about the difficulties of living out the Christian life, and also the life of St Wilfrid. During Mass, the orchestra and choir, conducted by Mr Clarke and Miss Herrington, led the congregation in a number of contemporary hymns based around our theme. During the Our Father, students from Years 8 and 9 performed a piece of liturgical movement to the words of the prayer. The Liturgy was prepared by members of the school Chaplaincy team, and it is a testimony to their hard work and dedication that the Mass was such a success.
The St Wilfrid’s Day Mass is a way of both celebrating our school achievements, but also and most importantly, a time to come together and to remember our purpose as a school. As our Mission Statement says, “At the heart of our life is a desire to encourage students to lead a Christian life and be of service to others.” We hope that our St Wilfrid’s Day Mass inspires them to do this.

Phil Russell Nov 2006