On Monday 28th January fifty of our students enjoyed a special day out at the Morningside Arena in Leicester with Bishop Patrick and over a thousand students from across our Catholic Multi-Academy Trust to celebrate the Feast Day of our patron St Thomas Aquinas.
The day began with an opening liturgy and welcome from the CEO Neil Lockyer. This was followed by a number of presentations on the life of St Thomas Aquinas delivered by Chaplains from across the trust. Bishop Patrick blessed copies of the trust mission statement for each school and then commissioned those present to be missionary disciples.
The bus rumbled as we trundled off into the blazing sun. The noises of chatter and laughter immediately surrounded us. As we approached the Leicester Rider’s Arena we saw an enormous crowd of children gathering around the entrance.
Once we entered the building each school was introduced. We sat and listened to stories about the life of St Thomas Aquinas and then the chaplains were invited up. English Martyrs erupted with applause as James our chaplain began to speak! We had lunch and had the opportunity to look at posters from other schools.
The Head of the NDCYS spoke to us about discipleship. Our chaplains then shared their thoughts on how the Spirit is at work in our schools. This was followed by a presentation of postcards and the receiving of another school’s mission statement from Bishop Patrick. I particularly enjoyed the music from the day as we sang the hymn ‘10,000 reasons’ by Matt Redman. I learned a lot about St Thomas Aquinas and found the day to be very reflective and meaningful.
I was amazed to see so many people from so many schools. The Bishop was very interesting and I felt inspired as he talked about St Thomas Aquinas. It was wonderful to see all of the different schools coming together as one big community.