More than 200 students from over 20 Mercy-affiliated schools across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have come together this year for the inaugural virtual Australasian Mercy Secondary Schools Association (AMSSA) Student Conference.
Held across four gatherings in Terms 1, 2 and 3, the conference created a new space for young people within the Mercy tradition to meet, share ideas and explore what it means to live Mercy in the world today.
For students at St Aloysius College, the experience offered both a window into the wider Mercy community and an opportunity to recognise that the values they encounter each day at SAC belong to a much larger story.
The Australasian Mercy Secondary Schools Association (AMSSA) connects secondary schools across Australia and the Australasian region that share in the Mercy tradition, inspired by Catherine McAuley.
While each Mercy school has its own history, community and local context, AMSSA provides opportunities for school staff and students to strengthen their shared Mercy identity through building relationships, and supporting young people to recognise their own place within a living tradition of the Mercy values.
The 2026 AMSSA Student Conference deepened that connection. Under the overarching theme Shining Lamps: Be the Light of Mercy, students gathered virtually on four occasions throughout the year, while also participating in activities and conversations within their own local school communities.
Each gathering explored a different dimension of Mercy: turning compassion into action, carrying Catherine McAuley’s legacy forward as young people, responding to injustice, and considering the kind of Mercy leaders students hope to become beyond school.
For Year 11 SAC students, Myf and Gianna, one of the most powerful parts of the experience was discovering how much they shared with students they had never met.
“We felt a true sense of connection with other Mercy schools and students, seeing that despite physical distances between us, we are united by the same values and visions for our communities.”
They said the experience strengthened their understanding that Mercy reaches well beyond the boundaries of any individual school.
“Having access to this opportunity has helped us learn that Mercy isn’t school specific and meaningful change can begin with small actions.”
Technology played an important role in making these connection possible.
Students were able to collaborate locally with fellow Mercy-affiliated schools in Adelaide and Adelaide Hills, before joining young people from communities across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Year 10 student, Aamina, said the experience gave her a greater appreciation of both the diversity and connectedness of the Mercy community.
“The connection to Mercy values was threaded through every session, and the whole experience gave the feeling of being part of something bigger than myself.”
For Jemima, Year 11, hearing from other schools nationally and internationally also broadened her understanding of what Mercy can look like in different communities.
“Speaking to and collaborating with people outside our typical SAC community helped me to see different perspectives and extend my understanding of what Mercy really looks like.”
Rather than gathering for a single event, the virtual conference unfolded over several months. This allowed students to return to their own communities between sessions, reflect on what they had heard and consider how ideas might translate into action in their respective contexts.
Across the four gatherings, students heard from speakers representing different generations and experiences of Mercy leadership.
Sr Annette Schneider RSM delivered the keynote for the first gathering at St Francis de Sales College, followed by Catherine Edwards, a lawyer and Old Scholar of Mercedes College for Session 2, the Sr Sheila Curran RSM who delivered a virtual presentation from Ireland for Session 3. SAC Old Scholar and present JAM and SACOSA Coordinator, Maddie Kelly, delivered the final keynote at St Francis de Sales College in August, explaining how her experience of Mercy education empowered and sustained her during her work in Tanzania for more than 5 years.
Catherine and Maddie also shared how their own involvement with Young Mercy Links SA opened unexpected pathways; especially for Catherine, who completed an internship at the United Nations in New York.
These stories offered students tangible examples of where a commitment to Mercy and justice can lead.
Across the conference, however, a consistent message emerged: living Mercy does not necessarily begin with extraordinary achievements. It begins in the choices young people make in their own relationships, schools and communities.
As Aamina reflected:
“AMSSA taught us that Mercy in action doesn’t have to mean headlines or life changing events, because most of the time, the seemingly smallest actions make the largest impacts.”
For students at St Aloysius College, these conversations are closely connected with the College’s Justice and Mercy (JAM) Program, through which students are encouraged to encounter their community, engage with issues of justiceand put the Mercy values into action.
The conclusion of the AMSSA Student Conference does not mark the end of that conversation.
On September 10, Year 11 student, Angelique, and Year 7 student, Saxby, represented SAC at the Mercy Ministry Companions Conference in Melbourne, where they spoke alongside Maddie Kelly about their experiences of the JAM Program and the role young people can play in turning encounter into positive change.
“This opportunity felt deeply meaningful, because I wasn’t just sharing my ideas about youth in social justice, I was standing in a room where my own passion, voice, and the Mercy values that shaped me finally came to life,” said Angelique.
Saxby explained to the audience that, included leaders across Mercy education, health and community services, “one thing I hope adults understand about young people and Mercy is that not all students are glued to their phone and scrolling through social media. There are students wanting to make relationships to help make change.
Angelique and Saxby’s participation provides another link between the Mercy formation taking place within SAC, and the wider network of people and ministries carrying the Mercy tradition forward.
One of the central ideas explored during the final AMSSA gathering, and upon which Saxby and Angelique reflected in preparation for their Mercy Ministry Companions workshop, was simple yet important: What kind of Mercy leader do I want to be?
It is a question without a single answer.
For some students, leadership may mean advocacy or service. For others, it may be noticing someone who is excluded, speaking when something is unjust, offering hospitality, caring for the environment or simply choosing compassion when it would be easier not to.
As Jemima reflected after participating in the AMSSA conference, the Mercy values have taught her that making a difference does not require doing everything at once.
“Any small act can have a huge impact… reaching out to help one step at a time.”
Across more than 20 schools, four gatherings and thousands of kilometres, the inaugural AMSSA Student Conference offered young people the chance to discover that they are not carrying that responsibility alone.
They are part of a much wider community, connected by a Mercy story that began with Catherine McAuley and continues to be written by the young people who choose to live it today.
Ms Maddie Kelly Justice and Mercy Coordinator
Year 11 student Angelique and Year 7 student Saxby representing SAC at the Mercy Ministry Companions Conference in Melbourne, alongside Mr Tattoli, Ms Maddie Kellyand Sister of Mercy Frances
