75th Anniversary of St Edmund’s Wahroonga – School for Children with Special Needs – 8 May 2026
The great storyteller JR Tolkein in Lord of the Rings has Sam say at one stage, “the brave things in the old tales and song, Mr. Frodo: adventures as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of sport, as you might say. But that’s not they way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them usually‑their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lost of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on . . . I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?”
Today we gather with deep gratitude to celebrate the story into which we have become part, the story of Edmund Ignatius Rice and the way in which his story has been told over 75 years here at St Edmunds: 75 years of courage, creativity, advocacy and love. Seventy-five years of believing in the dignity and possibility of every young person. Seventy-five years of what our motto expresses so beautifully: Inspiring Independence, Transforming Lives.
Indeed, the true measure of a society, a Church, or a school is not found in prestige, achievement or efficiency alone, but in how we see and accompany those who most need encouragement, patience and hope. This is what the Gospel we have just heard is speaking about. In the end, Jesus does not ask whether we were impressive. He asks whether we loved. Whether we noticed. Whether we welcomed. Whether we accompanied. Whether we recognised him hidden in others.
And it was the genius of Edmund Rice who took that story to heart. At a time when many children were neglected, excluded or trapped in poverty, Edmund saw not problems to be managed, but lives of infinite worth. He recognised Jesus in them. And because he recognised Jesus in them, he believed they deserved education, dignity, opportunity and love. The spirit of Edmund Rice continues wherever people refuse to reduce a young person to limitations or labels. It continues wherever educators, support staff, families and communities say: this young person matters; this life is precious; this person is capable of growth, contribution and grace.
Transformation rarely happens dramatically. More often it comes quietly: through patient teachers, compassionate aides, supportive families, therapists, administrators and friends who stay present to a young person, and through people who continue to believe in possibility even when progress is slow or difficult.
And that is why our motto is so powerful. Inspiring Independence recognises the dignity of each student as a person called to grow, to flourish, to discover their gifts and agency. It refuses the temptation to define people solely by what they cannot do. But equally beautiful is the second phrase: Transforming Lives. Because in truth, the transformation does not happen only in students. Everyone who has worked closely in this mission knows that the lives most transformed are often those who serve. Teachers, families and communities discover a deeper humanity through these relationships. They come to understand more clearly the way Christ sees the world.
Today we give thanks for all who built this mission: the pioneers who began it, those who sustained it through difficult times, those who continue it today, and the students whose lives and witness continue to shape this community in grace-filled ways.
On this feast of Blessed Edmund Rice, may we recommit ourselves to his vision: a vision grounded not merely in education, but in the Gospel itself. And may Christ continue to bless this community as it inspires independence, transforms lives, and reveals, again and again, the dignity of every human person.
