This year, the college received a grant of close to $200,000.

Sayed-Khaiyum spoke at the graduation ceremony for 31 students on Saturday.

In his address, Sayed-Khaiyum expressed his appreciation for the education the Marist Brothers had provided him when he attended Marist Brothers High School.

He noted that Corpus Christi was based on the Catholic foundations of edu­cation and the graduates have to understand that they could leave a mark in a student's life by the way they teach.

What matters, he said, is that people are all taught that everyone is a child of God regardless of their religion, so­cio-economic status or the prov­ince they come from.

"As teachers, you need to be able to inculcate that belief, that sense in your students that will not only be able to develop them as good human beings but will also help you to develop as good educators."

Corpus Christi College is a teachers' training college owned by the Archdiocese of Suva. Earlier this month it celebrated its diamond jubilee.

At that time the Archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong said it was an opportune time for Catholics to rediscover Catholic education.

He spoke in particular about the role of Christian education in addressing climate change.

He also raised the question of the number of Catholic teachers in church-owned primary and secondary schools, and graduates of Corpus Christi going to teach in non-Catholic schools.

He said there was a mood of depression, and questioning going on about where Catholic education is heading.

Listen to Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum's speech

Source

• Fiji Times
• Fiji Sun
• Fiji Sun
• YouTube
• Image: screenshot YouTube

There are now 59 men in training at Corpus Christi, the highest number since the 1970s.

They come from at least nine Australian archdioceses and dioceses.

In 1999, the number at Corpus Christi was 28.

Twenty years ago, the number was about 20.

Current rector Fr Brendan Lane at that time saw an institution in decline, Fairfax reported.

"I thought with attitudes as they were, we're finished," said Fr Lane, then a parish priest.

Now there are not enough rooms at Corpus Christi to house the seminarians and an appeal has been launched to fund an extension.

"This turnaround has been a real surprise I think to us, especially with the bad publicity," Fr Lane said.

"But in fact the more bad publicity we've had, the more students we get.

"I think it probably works in a reverse way. It says that we're trying to do something about the problems we've got."

"Why are these guys coming in now?" Fr Lane asked.

"I think people are going to need hope."

Third year seminarian Nathan Rawlins offered a simple explanation as to why the seminary is full.

"Now people are realising how great a gift it is to be a Catholic."

The seminarians reflect the ethnic mix of Australia today, and by extension, the Catholic congregations.

They are drawn from 11 countries of origin: Australian, India, Croatia, the Philippines, Vietnam, New Zealand, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Poland and Indonesia.

The Fairfax article explored the possibility that the Pope Francis effect had boosted seminary numbers.

The seminarians now in training would have been influenced by John Paul II and Benedict, it noted.

As Daryl Montecillo, who will be ordained this year, put it: "We trust in God regardless of whoever God gives us as pope. But we thank God for Pope Francis, that's for sure."

Sources

• Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Sydney Morning Herald

Ann Maguire, who taught Spanish and Religious Education at Corpus Christi College, was repeatedly stabbed in front of a class of 30 pupils.

A 15-year-old male has been charged with murder after being questioned by police.

The boy cannot be named for legal reasons.

This is believed to be the first time that a teacher has been killed by a pupil inside a British school.

Mrs Maguire was 61-years-old and married with two adult daughters.

She taught at the school for 40 years and was going to retire in a few months.

The Daily Mail reported that in her last moments, Mrs Maguire's thoughts were for her students.

She begged them to flee rather than see what was happening.

Fellow teacher at Corpus Christi Margaret Freeman said Mrs Magurie was "a brilliant teacher, but even more than that she was a really good person, one of life's good guys", who went the extra mile for her students.

Hundreds attended Mass the day after the killing at the church of Corpus Christi where Mrs Maguire was an active parishioner.

Many floral tributes have been laid outside the school by current and former pupils.

The Pope, Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition leader Ed Miliband have each paid tribute to Mrs Maguire.

In the House of Commons, Mr Cameron said Mrs Maguire's death was a "tragedy".

"She cared so much about her pupils that she had come in on her day off to help prepare them for exams," he said.

In the letter to the Diocese of Leeds, the Vatican's ambassador Archbishop Antonio Mennini asked for the message of "sincere sympathy" to be conveyed on behalf of himself and Pope Francis.

Bishop Malcom McMahon, who chairs the Catholic Education Service in England, called the killing a "senseless tragedy".

Sources

• BBC
• The Daily Mail
• The Telegraph
• The Tablet
• Image: The Telegraph