Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP has presented the Archbishop of Sydney Awards for Student Excellence 2017 to 49 outstanding students from Catholic Secondary schools across the Archdiocese of Sydney.
The recipients were individually recognised during a ceremony held at St Mary’s Cathedral College Hall for service to their school and parish communities, as well as their witness to the Catholic faith and academic excellence.
“It is my opportunity to recognise and congratulate the leadership and example that certain young people have given in our schools as part of the Church’s broader mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to 21st century Sydney,” Archbishop Fisher said during the ceremony.
The Archbishop also commended Episcopal Vicar for Education, Fr Michael McLean, and the Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools, Dr Dan White, for their strong leadership in Catholic education.
“We sorely need good leadership at this time in our history,” Archbishop Fisher said.
In his address Dr White said that the recipients of the Award are young people who have embraced those who are “on the margins” through their “sense of social justice”.
Following the award ceremony, the recipients and their families and friends joined the Archbishop for a prayer service in St Mary’s Cathedral in honour of the Feast Day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Archbishop of Sydney Awards for Student Excellence was established in 1999 by Cardinal Edward Clancy, as an annual recognition of some of the outstanding young men and women in Sydney’s Catholic schools.
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