Our Catholic faith is very important to us at Saint Mary’s and it is at the heart of our curriculum, policies and all we do at our school.
Use the links below to find out more about our Catholic Life and Mission.
At the young age of 10, Martin chose Christianity over his Roman gods. Unfortunately, he had to join the Roman army and he refused to fight because he was a ‘Soldier of Christ’. When he told the emperor this he was charged with cowardice. In order to prove that he wasn’t a coward, he said that he would go onto the front line armed with nothing but the cross. He was put in prison but was soon released. During his time in the army, it was said that he cut his cloak and gave it to a poor beggar. That night, he was visited by Jesus in his dream wearing that very same cloak. He instantly woke up to find his cloak restored! Moved by this miracle, he went to get baptised at the age of 18. When Martin was able to leave the Roman army, he went to Poiters under the guidance of the Bishop Hilary. Martin lived there for a long time before being forced out by Arianism, a religion that didn’t follow Christ.
Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians and Church music because, as she was dying, she sang to God. It is also written that as the musicians played at her wedding she ‘sang in her heart to the Lord’.
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews and God. He is also known as the father of all the people of the Earth and his descendants were told to be more than the stars as a promise from God. It means that his descendants will be many and they will fill the Earth.
The story of Abraham is told in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. At age 75 he journeyed to Canaan (the land that is now Israel) with his wife, Sarah, his nephew, Lot and many others. God told him that he and his children would inherit that land. At first Abraham an Sarah thought they were too old to have children. Abraham’s first child, Ishamel, was born to a servant of Sarah’s, Hagar. But Isaac was born later to Sarah. The Bible says that Abraham died at the age of 175 and was buried with his wife, Sarah.
Abraham was obedient to God – he was a man of faith, putting his trust in God, listening to God and followed in his way.
St Therese was popularly known as ‘The Little Flower of Jesus’ or simply ‘The Little Flower. Growing up, she didn’t like school, so she was home schooled. She became a Carmelite nun at the age of 15 in 1888. St. Therese devoted her life to God. She scattered flowers and each flower was a little sacrifice and a little action for God and love. After not feeling well for some time, she became very ill. She remained silent and cheerful until she died aged 24.
A Heart that Sees is a Year of Mercy legacy project. When the official Year of Mercy came to an end, Pope Francis asked that we continue the legacy in some way. In our school, we introduced the ‘A Heart that Sees’ award which is awarded fortnightly and presented during our Shining Lights celebration assembly. This award ties in nicely to the Bishop’s themes as when we show love and kindness to others, we are living out Jesus’ teachings just like his disciples and are therefore helping others to encounter God’s love.
Our ‘A Heart that Sees’ award recognises those children who are outwardly living our Gospel Values. As recognition and thanks for their exemplary behaviour, the child who has been chosen for the award from each class will be invited to attend Hot Chocolate Club with our Head Teacher, Mrs Gleed-Thornley. During this time, they enjoy a hot chocolate with their choices of toppings, including whipped cream and marshmallows, and they get to spend time talking to and playing games with our Head Teacher.
In the Pentecost term 2024, Mrs Wright (our Lay Chaplain) set up a a Faith in Action group in school. At our first meeting, we talked about different local, national and global charities and from the list we made together, the pupils chose which charity they wanted to fundraise for in Pentecost 2. They planned and delivered a whole school Celebration of the word about their chosen project and invited their parents and parishioners. They gave the school and their special guests a mission to colour in a kindness card which could be sent to children at the school we are in contact with in India.
At St Mary’s we care for other people and show a Christ-like love. We support our neighbours (locally, nationally and globally) who are less fortunate than ourselves or who are in need of support for any reason.
Here is a list of some of the charities and projects we have been involved with in recent years:
At Saint Mary’s, we are working hard towards achieving CAFOD’s Live Simply award. We have made nine pledges and as we work towards each of these we are teaching our children to live simply, live sustainably and to live in solidarity with our global family.
If you would like to find out more about our nine pledges, as well as more about what we have done so far, please click here (opens in new tab).
As we head towards the Jubilee Year of 2025, we are focussing on Bishop Patrick’s theme of Encounter.
Bishop Patrick said, “I would like to ensure that people of all ages in our parishes, schools, and chaplaincies are helped to discover, or discover more deeply, the importance of a personal encounter with Christ; so that they can become convinced that they are each loved by God and are invited to grow in their relationship with him.”
At Saint Mary’s in Boston, we encounter God in many ways. Our mission statement emphasises this; ‘We love, we learn, we grow; walking with faith in the light of the Lord’. God is with us in all that we do. Through prayer and liturgy, charity work, RE learning and the way we interact with one another, we encounter God and we help others encounter Him too. In moments of stillness and silence we can encounter him more personally.
Usually, we would focus on the theme of encounter during the Advent term, however the pattern in which we usually focus on each of the three Bishop’s Themes has currently changed due to the upcoming Jubilee. Therefore, until Christmas Eve 2024, our main focus is on encountering God.
On Wednesday 18th September, we are planning a whole school retreat day which will be led by our lay chaplains.
Check back here soon for more information and photos.
A disciple of Christ is to become like Christ in all that we say and do. Being a disciple means we must take the time to get to know Jesus through prayer, action, reaction and interaction. At Saint Mary’s, we spread and celebrate the word of God through our prayer and liturgies as well as through our actions and words.
Our next focus on the theme of Discipleship will be during the Jubilee Year, beginning on Christmas Eve 2024 and lasting until the Feast of the Epiphany (6th January) 2026. The Jubilee Year 2025 will be dedicated to the theme of Discipleship, and we will be looking at some of the themes of the Year including care for creation, food poverty, forgiveness, and rest and worship.
With a greater recognition of, and openness to, the help, guidance, and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we can all become Missionary Disciples; faith-filled, joyful, and outward-looking Christians. At Saint Mary’s, we are missionary disciples when we bear witness to His love through our service of our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need. We are always grateful when we receive such incredible support for our charitable work throughout the year from our families and wider community. One highlight of our year is our harvest festival which is always well supported.
The theme of Missionary Discipleship will be our focus from 7th January 2026 until the end of Ordinary Time (28th November 2026).
In October 2021, Pope Francis launched a Synod of the whole Church, in which he asked that everyone in the Church listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, dreaming and thinking of the type of Church we wish to be a part of.
An extract from Bishop Patrick’s Pastoral Letter for the children of our Diocese:
Today, I really want to listen to you! I want to hear all about what you think and what you feel about being part of God’s family. As His children you are loved and cherished by Him, so it is very important that we listen to you. I’d love to know, most of all, what your dream is for God’s Church. How would you like it to look? What do you like about God’s Church? What would make it better? Who would you like to invite to church? You can share this dream in a poem or a picture or a story if you like.
In October 2024, two of our pupils joined Mrs Allan along with a teacher and two pupils from Saint Norbert’s in Spalding on a journey to Lincoln for our Our Lady of Lourdes Multi-Academy Trust’s own Synod. Once there, they met with pupils and staff from across our Trust and engaged in both opportunities for discussion and contemplation. Our pupils were excellent and gave some thought-provoking responses to the questions that were put to them.
Following on from our Trust Synod, we were asked to commit to one concrete action that we, as as a school community, would pledge to carry out in response to our discussions and the feedback from these. At Saint Mary’s, we have chosen to focus on the theme of community and will be introducing a coffee morning style drop in session once a month for parents and parishioners to attend. We have named this ‘Together on Tuesdays’ and look forward to getting this up and running soon.
