The 2024 De Mazenod Family Education Charism Retreat was held at the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre Ormiston Queensland. The Retreat is designed for a time of personal reflection and contemplation for staff from schools affiliated with the DMFEN schools and colleges. Staff from Iona College, St Eugene College, Mazenod College Victoria and Mazenod College Western Australia joined Fr Christian Fini OMI, Fr Joe Antony OMI, Fr Joshua Nash OMI and Fr Daniel Szewc OMI to discover more about St Eugene and how his charism has influenced the missionary work of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate here in Australia and around the world.
The renowned setting is a perfect location for staff to spend quiet time reading Oblate Commentaries and personal writings from St Eugene de Mazenod. Fr Daniel based his keynote presentations on St Eugene’s “Moments of Grace” and his deep historical analysis provoked and inspired those in attendance.
The Retreat highlighted how fortunate we are to have a shared culture that permeates from the wonderful work of the Oblates in our De Mazenod Family communities. To have them present and sharing their witness and faith is a gift.
All our gatherings / conferences / retreats are designed to be times to build connection, community and develop charism. Thank you to all who participated in the 2024 Charism Retreat, and for the generous way they participated to the programme.
We hope this model will serve staff from affiliated primary and secondary schools in the future and encourage all staff members to consider the possibility of participating in 2025 and beyond.