Mitch Cairoli, Chaplain

      Hello out there in internet land and welcome to the Chaplaincy page! For you parents and interested others, I just want to let you know a little bit of what my role is here at St. Martin’s. In a nutshell, I am responsible of the spiritual side of the school, the pastoral care and spiritual development of both students and staff, which is why we are “St. Martin’s” and not “Rosemary High”. In terms of providing opportunities for prayer, there are the major school liturgies, the morning prayers, small group chapel sessions and providing for such opportunities as the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Important sessions such as Advent and Lent bring their own traditions, both school-based and communal. Our retreat programme provides each student with one day a year in which they are invited to explore their faith, their relationships and their lives in greater detail than is otherwise possible. With my background in counselling, I also am part of a team that is there to listen and talk about whatever is pressing in the lives of our students, staff AND parents. (Don’t forget that)!

       However, one of my favourite lines is this: “I HEAR AND I FORGET. I SEE AND I REMEMBER. I DO AND I UNDERSTAND”. This is why acts of charity and justice are so important at St. Martin’s. Every week I have the privilege and the pleasure of taking student volunteers to the St. Francis Table in Toronto where they serve dinner to its poor and homeless patrons. We also have an annual food drive, an Easter chocolate drive and, the highlight of our year, the Christmas Basket Campaign which reaches out to dozens of needy families in our community and provides them with a Christmas that they would not have otherwise been able to afford. I am so proud of our students’ generosity. In the words of one woman, who used to get help from us but (thankfully) is now able to cope on her own, “When you get on St. Martin’s list, you really score big”.

      If you would like to learn more, or chat about anything, feel free to call me at extension 76321. I look forward to getting to know you!