Our Charism

Inspired by the example of St Peter, Catherine McAuley and St Francis of Assisi, St Peter's Catholic School aims to be a place of welcome, respect, learning and justice.

The St Peter's School community strives to unite the school, home and parish in their mission of developing each child. St Peter's Catholic School is an inclusive learning community where all are welcome and valued, experience the joy of learning and are challenged to live the Gospel of Jesus in our daily lives.

Patron Saint

St Peter

Saint Peter, the first Pope and Prince of the Apostles, was a simple fisherman, when Jesus invited him to follow Him, saying, "I will make you a Fisher of Men".

He was originally called Simon, but Jesus changed his name to ‘Peter' which means ‘Rock'. Peter was to become the rock on which Jesus would build His Church, in that way becoming the first leader of the Church.

Peter, like us, was not perfect. He cowardly denied knowing Jesus at Jesus' arrest but he repented and was forgiven. Peter went to Rome and converted many pagans. This deeply upset the Romans, who began to persecute the Christians. They captured Peter and decided to crucify him. When he heard of this, he asked to be crucified upside down, as he felt he was not worthy to die the same way as ‘His Master'. His Feast Day is celebrated on 29 June with St Paul. St Peter's School also celebrates The Chair of St Peter Feast Day on the 22 February where Peter is recognised as the first Bishop of our Church. During this celebration, the school inducts the new school leaders for each year.

What is Charism?

A charism is a divine spiritual gift given to an individual or group for the good of the community. Each religious order has a specific charism, a gift to be put to the service of the Church and the world.

Pope Paul VI was the first to label "charism" specifically in relation to religious institutes. He explained that the charism of the religious life is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, who is always at work within the Church.

A charism touches the very core of our existence and colours everything that we do as human beings. It allows us to see things in new ways, and to understand them even more wonderfully. We absorb a charism as we absorb sunshine, and we radiate a charism as a light pierces the darkness.