Special Character

Our Charism

Pax Christi, we warmly welcome you to Holy Cross Catholic School, where excellence is a Gospel Value. We provide an holistic, life-giving education underpinned by hope, that prepares our students to make a positive and effective contribution to the multi-cultural society in which we live.

Mission

We are committed to providing holistic learning for all our students, so that they can experience joy in all areas of life. Through a shared commitment to God, we will grow in our relationship as a family, caring for each other and creation – Whanaungatanga.

Vision

With God, we strive for Excellence – Kia kaha ka haerenga me Te Atua.

History

Holy Cross Catholic School was opened and blessed on Sunday 15th May 1932. Sisters of Mercy taught 60 pupils. The Dominican Sisters arrived in 1971 when St. Dominic’s College was built in Henderson and the Sisters of Mercy moved to St. Mary’s, Northcote. In 1976, four Capuchin Friars took up residence at the presbytery and in 1977, opened a postulancy (a first house for those entering the Order) in Lavelle Road. The Dominican Sisters moved to View Road.

Charism

Charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, communicated through a particular person who gathers disciples around him or her or with whom he or she translates a bold vision into action.

Charism is a living passion for whatever dimension of the life of Christ is missing now - peace, truth, mercy … it is the heart of the foundress/founder that was aglow at the period of history, beating on in us in another day and age. It is ever changing … It is where the reign of God is needed most. It develops from age to age and dies from age to age … and then grows up in a new way.

Holy Cross Catholic School follows the Charism of our Patron, St. Francis of Assisi, acknowledging the presence of the Capuchin Brothers who follow in his footsteps, which is “To joyfully live the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” St. Francis of Assisi loved nature, animals and God as Creator of all things. St. Francis of Assisi imitated Jesus so closely that he became known as “Alter Christi” (another Christ).

Holy Cross Catholic School is an extension of the family and the Church, and we embody the values and teachings of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. This is manifested through our relationships, sacramental celebrations, rituals and symbols which can be found in a setting which strongly upholds the dignity and value of each person, made in the likeness and image of God.

The Special Character of Holy Cross Catholic School as defined in the Integration Agreement is as follows:

“The school is a Roman Catholic School in which the whole school community, through the general school programme and its instruction and observances, exercises the right to live and teach the values of Jesus Christ. These values are expressed in the Scriptures and in the practices, worship and doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church as determined from time to time by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland.”

The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi for Peace lays the foundation stones for our “Faith in Action”.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope,

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,

To be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.