Marco Carvalho
Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang will preside over a Mass on Friday, September 15, to mark the beginning of the new school year, the chaplain of the Saint Rose of Lima College, Father José Mario Mandía, told O Clarim.
The ceremony, which takes place at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, will be concelebrated by the priests that were entrusted by the Diocese with providing spiritual guidance to students, teachers and employees of the local Catholic Schools. Each of the educational institutions, Father Mandía explains, will be represented at the Eucharist by 35 of its Catholic students.
For many worldwide, the month of September signals the end of summer, the beginning of autumn and the start of a new school year. Macau is no exception. After a month-long summer holiday, students returned to school last Monday, three days later than initially expected. The start of the new school year was postponed due to the impact of tropical cyclone Saola, which battered Macau on Friday, September 1st.
Last Monday, at St. Joseph Secondary School Nr.6 – which shares its premises with the University of Saint Joseph – the ceremony that kicked-off the new school year was endorsed by Kong Chi Meng. The new director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau and a DSEDJ delegation visited the school with the purpose of encouraging teachers and students, so that they can strive to do their best during the academic year that has now begun.
During the opening ceremony of the new school year, the director of Saint Joseph Secondary School Nr.6, Samuel Kio Su-Iong, encouraged the students to maintain the habit of being punctual, friendly and approachable. Mr. Kio also urged Saint Joseph’s pupils to cultivate a healthy attitude towards the challenges they will face throughout the academic year. The school’s director exhorted students to set tangible objectives for the new cycle that begun earlier this week and directed words of encouragement to those pupils who were unable to achieve the objectives they set themselves over the previous school year.
The day before Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-Sang presides over the Solemn Eucharist with which the Diocese welcomes and blesses the start of the new academic year, it’s the University of Saint Joseph’s turn to pray for God’s blessings. On Thursday, September 14, the Holy Cross Chapel of USJ’s Ilha Verde campus will host the Opening Mass of the 2023/2024 Academic Year. Presided by Bishop Stephen Lee, chancellor of the University, the ceremony starts at 10 am.
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