A birthday celebration is thrilling and, when you are celebrating 134 years, it deserves an occasion. Yesterday was such a celebration of St Mary’s School. Our Patronal Festival is an annual celebration of our patron saint, Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the beautiful mosaic above the angel doors denotes, we have in Saint Mary a patron saint who, while a young girl, showed great faith and courage in order to say “yes” to God.

The Patronal Festival marks another year in the existence of our school. Our festival traditionally takes place in May, as close to the Festival of the Blessed Virgin Mary as possible in our calendar. This year we chose to celebrate on Ascension Day, a high and holy day in the Christian calendar.

St Mary’s School celebrated its birthday for the first time when it turned three in 1891. In 2022, our faith remains the lodestar of the school.

The service is traditionally held in The Close and it was led by Revd Rakgadi, with our guest, Revd Cynthia Botha delivering the sermon. Pupils from across the school were included in reading and leading the congregation in prayer. The service was enhanced with music and singing which lifted us all spiritually, and its mosaic rooted us in the Anglican faith and our South African context.

The celebration then moved to the Howell Hub where the entire school enjoyed a picnic. The exuberance and the ability of St Mary’s girls to have fun, commune with one another, and revel in celebration has always made the Patronal Festival a memorable occasion. These festivities reminded us of how much we had missed during the pandemic and how important it is to gather in community.

DEANNE KING
HEAD OF SCHOOL