Deputy Head Boy and Year 12 student Dylan Rumsby had the honour of meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday 25th May. The invitation arose as a result of the College’s membership of the global Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders network and the attendance of Headmaster Simon Duggan and Chaplain Tom Murray at the EREBB Global Congress in Dublin last month.

In Dublin the Edmund Rice English Schools network was invited by the “Scholas Occurrentes” (“Scholars Worldwide”) movement, founded by Pope Francis, to send 2 student representatives to their Papal Audience the following week, as a result of our close engagement with initiatives in the global Edmund Rice family. Dylan was an obvious choice to represent us as a student who has been active in College life, including the Friday Club and attending an EREBB homelessness workshop in Belfast.

Dylan described the experience as “almost surreal and unforgettable.” Pope Francis blessed a family 100-year-old Rosary for him, which Dylan later presented to his recently bereaved grandmother.

Scholas Occurrentes was founded 10 years ago and encourages encounters, including inter-faith ones, between young people from around the world drawing strength from multi-culturalism and diversity, in order to empower young people to achieve lasting change and create a more just world. The College will be engaging closely with it in forthcoming years.

Simon Duggan
Headmaster