On Good Friday (18th April 2025), Columban Missionaries Frs Kevin McHugh and Pat Colgan paid a visit to St Louis’ Grammar School in Ballymena to present prizes to three winners in this year’s Columban Schools Media competition, writes Fr Pat Colgan.
The theme of this year’s competition was ‘Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope’. Two of the student came First and Second in the print category while a third student came Second in the image category.
This is the third year in a row the school has had winners in the competition and full credit goes to teacher, Ms Shauna Pickering, Head of RE at St Louis.
On the day Fr Pat and Fr Kevin visited, the class was revising ‘Early Irish Monasticism’ – with St Columbanus, the patron of the Columbans, prominently featured.
St Louis Ballymena RE class with Ms Shauna Pickering and Columbans Fr Kevin McHugh and Fr Pat Colgan.
Two out of the three winners are also preparing to go to their ‘sister’ school in Ghana, where they will be spend two weeks building classrooms and assessing needs for future such trips.
In both their cases, part of their prize money will go to the £1500 each student has to collect as their contribution to ‘St Louis Oku Basic School’ so the timing could not have been better!
Fr Pat Colgan presenting Odhran with his prize.
When asked why he chose to write about teachers as bringers of hope, Odhran McGowan said that while many other professions get praised regularly, he has always found Ms Pickering, School Head Mrs O’Neill, and all the staff, most accessible, friendly and supportive to him and others.
While Odhran hadn’t heard of the Columbans prior to entering the competition, the RE, English, Health/Social Science student said he knows a lot more about them now since the competition and he admires the hope that missionaries bring to the world.
Fr Kevin McHugh presenting Maria Rosa with her prize.
Maria Rosa Black, who aspires to be a fashion designer, said that she liked the platform that the competition offered young people to share their talents and that the theme of Jubilee was a positive one for her peers.
Eabha Delargy said that she likes ‘faith based’ competitions, and this is one of the reasons she chose RE as an A-level subject. Unlike the others, she had heard of the Columbans but never met one until Fr Pat and Fr Kevin visited.
Many thanks to Mrs O’Neill for her hospitality and welcome to the two Columbans. She explained that many students come in voluntarily for revision days such as the day the Columbans visited, and that the RE class always then go together to the Passion Liturgy at 3pm.
Fr Kevin presenting Eabha with her prize.
The school also had a weekly Lenten Mass which was packed. These signs – including the outreach to Ghana – show a faith-based school at its best. We wish them, and all the schools who sent in entries to our competition, every success in their plans.
For more information about this year’s competition see: www.columbancompetition.com