Chaplaincy
The Holy Child School Chaplain is a faith presence in the school community whose role is to offer a spiritual and faith-based perspective to school life.
Chaplaincy is a faith-inspired profession of companionship, of listening, accompanying and facilitating. It is a ministry of hope, a privilege to administer, and is rooted, nurtured and guided in personal faith.
In word and action Holy Child school Chaplain endeavours to show that ‘normal life’ can be spiritual and spiritual life canbe normal. She endeavours to facilitate a safe and welcoming faith environment where every individual can experience God’s presence meaningfully, and know that they are valued and appreciated as children of God.
The Chaplain in Holy Child offers a faith lens through which the students can view themselves and the world, one which they may not embrace fully, or even at all, during their school years, but opening a valuable and precious space in their hearts, heads and souls to which they may return at any time through their lives, discovering and rediscovering the loving presence of God in their lives.
The Holy Child Chaplain personally embraces the unique charism of Cornelia Connelly whose inspiring educational legacy is at the root of all school life.
Cornelia’s words and educational vision animate the Chaplain’s vision and work.
“Let us try, day by day, to do as God would do, to speak as He would speak, to think as He would think. In each place, at all times and in every action consider God present with you”, Cornelia Connelly.
Cornelia’s words and pedagogical approach are the foundation of all Holy Child Schools; they were hugely innovative inher day, and remain the guiding principles of our school mission. Her practical incarnational theology challenges every staff member to see the person of the child Jesus in every child they teach.
Our crest is an image of a star cross, and the Gospel message from the crib in Bethlehem to the cross of resurrection provides the values we strive to live in Killiney. Nourished by prayer and the sacraments the school community lives its Cornelian spirit in word and action.
The Chaplain in Holy Child aims to ensure that the characteristic spirit of Holy Child Killiney reflects the foundingintention of the school, opened in 1947 by Sisters of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, and embodies the school’s Mission Statement which is rooted in the unique Cornelian educational legacy of our Foundress Cornelia Connelly.
“Let us try, day by day, to do as God would do, to speak as He would speak, to think as He would think. In each place, at all times and in every action consider God present with you”
“Keep yourselves in the presence of our good, good God who is all truth and gives the spirit of truth and simplicity to all who walk in His holy presence”
The Chaplain in Killiney encourages and facilitates engagement and involvement with a spiritual rhythm of life, which follows the Catholic Liturgical Calendar and complements the academic and extracurricular aspects of the academic year.
She works very closely with the Religious Education and Music Teams to foster a warm, caring, compassionate and creative environment of hospitality and welcome, where personal faith is fostered and expressed in meaningful and lasting ways.
The Chaplain’s role is educational and pastoral, working with school leaders to put into practice the holistic aims of the Education Act (1998) which says schools are to ‘promote the moral, spiritual, social and personal development of students.’ The Chaplain is in the privileged position to guide students on their spiritual journey, and to offer various ceremonies and celebrations which bring joy, consolation, peace and fulfilment to the school community.
The Chaplain in Holy Child closely collaborates with school Management, Guidance, Year Heads, Form Tutors, Classroom Teachers, and all support staff, to promote a harmonious school environment which focuses on the well-being of all members of the school community.
“It is wisdom itself to know how to profit by experience, and this is not only by our own experience, but by the experience of others”
The Chaplain engages with all areas of HCK school life and actively engages with the many and varied aspects of the school year, supporting and maintaining a lively interest in recreational, cultural and outreach activities.
Through the annual Retreat Programme for each Yeargroup, Eucharistic celebrations and other liturgical events, opportunities for service and ministry in their school and community, and the use of our lovely HCK sacred spaces -the Chapel and Prayer Room- students are offered meaningful faith experiences which nurture personal reflection, creativity, and class bonding.
Embracing the image of Jesus walking with the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Gospel of Luke, Chap.24) the Holy Child Chaplain endeavours to accompany members of the school community on their journey through school life, responding to the day to day pastoral needs of the students, encouraging them to let their light shine brightly and build a better world for all.
The Chaplain strives to walks in companionship, listen in solidarity, and encourage acceptance of the freely given invitation to know and love God.
“Trust the children and never let your confidence in them be easily shaken. Confidence begets confidence. Make yourself all to them so as to assist them to advance in their way”
The role of the School Chaplain is wide and varied.
This can involve meeting students on an individual basis, organising liturgies and prayers, facilitating activities and outreaches which promote awareness of social justice and peace, teaching Religious Education, establishing and maintaining connections with our wider Cornelian Network and other faith communities, attending parent teacher meetings, delivering workshops for new staff on school ethos and legacy, and participating in activities which relate to the well-being and development of the school community.
The Chaplain in Killiney strives to know all the students within the school, developing and facilitating a yearlong programme of faith based activities which is welcoming, inclusive and impactful.
Journeying with the students and staff, the Chaplain actively listens and gives advice where requested, and supports them in times of trouble, of bereavement or illness, of stress or anxiety.
Alongside this the Chaplain actively engages with the families, communities and parishes of the students. The Chaplain will also seek facilitate links with other faith communities where it is relevant to pupils in the school.
The HCK Chaplain responds to the spiritual and religious needs of the students, and the whole school community, while respecting the religious and personal convictions of all.
She aims to create an awareness within the school of the value of spiritual formation, and provide opportunities for students to express and explore their spiritual identity through Retreats, Ceremonies and Celebrations, justice and peace outreach activities and building connections between fellow SHCJ schools, HCK Alumni and schools in the wider Le Chéile Catholic network.
The HCK Chaplaincy Team, Social Action Team, the Cornelia Connelly Young SVP Conference and the Eucharistic Ministry Group work with the Chaplain to live the school motto, Actions not Words, to discuss, organise and facilitate ceremonies, celebrations, outreach activities and awareness campaigns through the school year. Alongside these the Lourdes student pilgrims, the India Immersion Team and the student House Heads liaise frequently with the Chaplain as they embrace our Cornelian motto in specific activities related to their ministries.
“You must not hide the gifts that God has given, but use them in His service. Are we not all bound to help each other, as well as to look to ourselves”
“Pray and have great confidence in God who will take care of his own work and guide and govern it by his Holy Spirit. Be yourself, but let that self be all that God wants it to be”
The Chaplain is available to students throughout the school week, both in classroom settings and in the Chaplain’s officewhich is alongside the Sacristy in our beautiful school Chapel. The
Chaplain’s office is a place to meet, share, plan, pray and bond. It is also a place of refuge and comfort if needed. Thedoor is always open and it is a warm and welcoming space for individual students who wish to come for a visit, for the many service groups who meet there, for staff to come for support, for parents who may wish to visit.
“To do anything well we must do it with our heart, with our mind and with our strength, for the love of God, of ourselves and of our neighbour.”
The beautiful HCK Chapel provides a quiet, reflective space for all members of the school community, and is a wonderful gathering place to celebrate in prayer and ritual through the school year. The First Year WelcomingCeremony, annual Carol Services and Leaver’s Mass are highlights of the year, alongside the meaningful and consoling annual Mass of Remembrance, and ceremonies for Advent, Lent and Easter.
Our comfortable Prayer Room is used regularly for different faith-based activities, including informal rituals such as the annual ADVENTure and HCK traditions such as working with Memory Boxes which are at the core of student life throughout their years in Killiney.
