The Mercy Leadership Programme was an incredible opportunity that inspired us to be servant leaders under the Mercy charism.

Villa Maria generously hosted us for three days during the holidays. We got to listen to speeches, participate in fun meaningful activities, and build great relationships with selected students from the Mercy Schools in New Zealand. 

A large part of the experience was being able to meet the girls who came from different schools. It was an amazing experience as it grew our connections, helped us learn about how other schools worked differently in New Zealand and grew our girlhood.

Being able to work in groups with other students, one from each school, was a really good idea as we were able to talk to new people. I became friends with everyone in my group instantly, bonding over the similarities in our school and the things we had in common. I still talk to some of the girls today and I’m so grateful for all my new friends and the fun times we had together. 

In our groups we did activities such as the $12 meal challenge, where we made our own dinner with $12. This activity was an example of how the vulnerable people in our society live in our daily lives to provide meals for themselves or their families. Another activity we did was the Young Vinnies Service. Doing this service helped us realize the importance of giving back to our community.

We listened to nine speakers: Sister Anna Nicholls, Farid Ahmed, Brendan Malone, Bishop Michael Gielen, Catherine Fyfe, Verity Tester, Sargent Shaw, Luis Arevalo and Jane Higgins. All the speakers were extremely interesting and it was great to hear from so many people.

Although the speakers came from many different backgrounds there were many common themes and connections between all the speakers' speeches. All of them were messages on what makes a good leader with a Catholic perspective and Catholic values.

The speaker I found the most interesting was Sargent Shaw. It was really interesting to hear about all the work she does in the community.

She was an ex-Marian girl so it was inspiring to see how the Marian values aligned with the police values.

Bishop Micheal's message about Mary and saying “yes” was very inspiring and he kindly gifted all us girls with miraculous medals from France. All the speakers were great and it was awesome to get an opportunity to hear everyone speak. 

As a final output, we were challenged to create a hypothetical initiative. Marian presented "Ratonga te rā" - a full day of local service. 

The Mercy Leadership Day was a life-changing experience and we are so excited for what we can accomplish with these connections, following in the path of Catherine McAuley. We are so grateful for the hard work put into making this event happen.

Article added: Tuesday 22 October 2024