Australian Catholic Students Association president Antonio Ryan-da Cunha is “extremely encouraged” after its annual conference saw the largest attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 80 students attended the three-day conference in early July, with many coming from other states including Western Australia and Queensland.
The conference, entitled ‘Christus Rex’ or Christ the King, is an annual celebration which aims to intellectually and spiritually nourish Catholics currently enrolled in tertiary education across Australia.
Held at the Peter Cosgrove Centre at the Australian Catholic University’s (ACU) North Sydney campus, it focused on celebrating the centennial of Quas Primas, an encyclical published by Pope Pius XI, which introduced the Feast of Christ the King into the Catholic calendar and expanded the church’s perspective of the social kingship of Christ.
Ryan-da Cunha believes the increased interest in the conference is reflective of wider growth of engagement with Catholic faith across Australia.
“It showed how this event can build a community of students and let them know they’re not isolated in their little bubble, that there are others they can rely on and build strong networks with,” he said.
“With the growth in young Catholics across Australia in recent years, it’s really encouraging to see these communities are getting bigger and bigger.”
A significant part of the conference is the annual Mannix Ball, at which this year’s keynote speaker, prominent theologian Dr Tracey Rowland, delivered an address discussing the importance of organisations such as ACSA.
“One of the main takeaways from Dr Rowland’s talk was about how ACSA isn’t just an association of students, we’re a community of faith,” Ryan-da Cunha said.
Other speakers included Sydney Catholic Schools’ head of evangelisation Dr Robert Haddad and former trade union leader Joe de Bruyn. The latter, incidentally, received a much warmer welcome than 18 months previously when graduating ACU students staged a mass walkout after de Bruyn delivered a speech about living one’s faith in the public sphere.
Ryan-da Cunha said the student association now has a state chaplain for Victoria for the first time in a long time, Fr Joseph Vnuk OP, and is considering hosting the next conference outside of Sydney.
“There was a large amount of excitement and interest this year, and we’re hoping that continues to grow for years to come,” he said.
