Launch of

The Celebration of 170 Years of Education in

St Leo’s College

by

President Mary McAleese

2009 is a very significant year for St. Leo’s College, Carlow as it celebrates its 170^th Anniversary. The school community is deeply honoured that President McAleese has very kindly accepted our invitation to launch our year of celebration on Monday 27 April.

This year offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on and celebrate 170 years of education inspired by and rooted in the vision of Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy.  St. Leo’s Convent was one of the first convents founded by Catherine and St. Leo’s College was one of the first Mercy girls school in the world. It opened on 1^st May 1839 in an urgent response to the needs of the community.

Catherine Mc Auley helped lay the foundations of a model of education for young Catholic girls when few opportunities for such were available to them. Her vision of education was a progressive and holistic one with a particular concern for the marginalised and disenfranchised in our society. It was underpinned by an emphasis on lay people contributing in whatever way they could to building up the social and moral fabric of Irish society. Young people were educated to reach their full potential in all spheres and empowered to transform the society in which they lived. Successive generations of educators since 1839 have followed in her footsteps in building upon this vision and adapting it accordingly to best respond to the changing needs of the times.

All of us in St. Leo’s are proud to be part of a learning community with such a rich history in striving to implement this philosophy of education, steeped in the Catholic tradition. We in turn seek to champion it into the future.

One of the key events taking place to commemorate the 170^th Anniversary is the Tapestry Project. The history and development of St. Leo’s College is being chronicled through the medium of tapestry. This is a collaborative process which is engaging students, parents, teachers, and members of the Mercy Community together with trustees and past pupils of the school community. It is a joy for us that President Mc Aleese will view the tapestry during her visit on 27 April.

We look forward in anticipation to this visit of President McAleese and hope that she will meet a broad cross section of the diverse strands of a vibrant educational community before addressing the whole school community.