Lead of Prayer and Liturgy: Mr J Lowrie

Lay Chaplain: Mrs C Harvey

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:29-31

At St Patrick’s, the fulfilment of Jesus’ Greatest Commandment – to love God and love our neighbours – is at the heart of prayer and liturgy. Liturgical celebrations and times of prayer are integral to school life, and are designed so that members of our school community have valuable opportunities for reflection, to experience God’s presence and develop spiritually.

Our students begin every day by gathering together for morning prayer, either through form time or assembly. Pupils regularly listen to or read scripture, and reflect on the meaning and relevance of Biblical teachings. Our staff and pupils are invited to consider what our mission is as the Body of Christ and People of God in today’s world. Pupils also become familiar with traditional Catholic prayers, and have opportunities to pray for their own needs and the needs of others. Ensuring that morning prayer offers pupils and staff a variety of different ways to worship and communicate with God has been fundamental to our development of these important daily acts of worship.

Each week, pupils and staff are invited to join Fr Martin Collins for prayer in our beautiful chapel on Wednesdays. Each year, every form has the opportunity to lead Wednesday prayer for the benefit of all who attend. Pupil voice gathered in January 2025 reflects how important these acts of collective worship are to our students:

  • Pupils enjoy the “sense of togetherness and shared identity”, “freedom of expression”, “reading” and the “quietness and calm”.
  • Pupils feel they benefit through being able to “reflect on the ‘bigger picture’ of life”, spending time with Fr Martin and being “inspired by the music, prayers and readings”.
  • Pupils say Wednesday prayer services make them feel “more comfortable” with how to pray, increasing the likelihood that they will pray independently.

Every month, Mass is celebrated in our school hall by Fr Martin Collins. These experiences of staff, pupils and parents/carers coming together, united in faith, serve as a consistently powerful reminder that Christ is at the centre of all we do at St Patrick’s. Pupil voice collected during the Autumn term of 2024-2025 again reflects how much our students value these liturgical celebrations:

  • Pupils say Mass enables them to deepen their relationship with God, leaving them feeling closer to God.
  • Pupils enjoy singing hymns and listening to our choir during Mass.
  • Pupils understand the importance of receiving the Eucharist, as this is the source and summit of Christian life.
  • Pupils enjoy actively participating during Masses through reading, singing, praying and altar serving.
  • Pupils appreciate their family members joining us for Mass.

In addition to the above, members of our community also benefit from and participate in a number of special liturgical celebrations during the year. For example, we come together at Holy Cross RC Church for the Year 7 Welcome Mass and St Patrick’s Day Mass, we gather as a whole school community in prayer on Remembrance Day in November, pupils and staff mark Ash Wednesday with a special service, and we send our Year 11 pupils out into the world beyond St Patrick’s with their Leavers’ Mass.

For more information about prayer and liturgy at St Patrick’s, please read our Prayer And Liturgy Policy