Staff from St Gerard’s Primary School Westminster and Majella Catholic Primary School Balga, together with Sr Breda O’Reilly partook in a wonderful opportunity to understand the story of the women who forged Catholic Education 171 years ago on Friday 2 June.
The Ursula Frayne pilgrimage retraced Sr Frayne’s steps from her arrival in Fremantle in early 1846 to her journey along the Swan River and her first impressions of the under-developed city of Perth.
The pilgrimage began at St Gerard’s Primary School where a morning ritual set the scene for the day ahead.
Staff members then boarded buses from Westminster to Fremantle Harbour. Sr Ursula Frayne, re-enacted by Ida Di Fulvio from St Gerard’s Primary School, greeted pilgrims at the East St Jetty with a gift.
The group soon encountered problems on the day with the boat trip cancelled and had to board another bus to take them from Fremantle to Perth City, where the tour resumed at Barrack Street Jetty.
The pilgrims then followed Sr Frayne through places significant to her arrival in Perth City and then back to Mercedes College and the Heritage Centre.
The pilgrims learned that the industrious Sr Frayne arrived in 1846 and within two years had been instrumental in the building project of the convent and school, which opened in 1848
The pilgrimage was similar to the one run last year for students from Mercy primary schools in the metropolitan area.
The use of audio podcasts, the brainchild of Mercedes College Archivist and Sacristan, Vedette Lendich, captured Sr Frayne’s narrative at critical junctures and invited pilgrims to listen to Sr Frayne’s story on their iPhones.
St Gerard’s Assistant Principal Josephine Vivante said one of the key reasons for organising the event was to share the mercy charism with all participants.
“The pilgrimage was an opportunity for staff and from both Mercy schools to ‘experience’ the story rather than merely hear it,” Ms Vivante said.
“The mercy charism that welcomed refugees and cared for our indigenous brothers and sisters, started with Sr Ursula Frayne and the Sisters of Mercy 171 years ago.
“The pilgrimage will give the staff of St Gerard’s Primary School and Majella Catholic Primary School the opportunity to spread the mercy message with the students and families they encounter within their school,” Ms Vivante said.