Joy and good tidings were in abundance at McAuley Place Residential Aged Care in Rockhampton recently as 40 Year 1 students from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School recreated the first Christmas in story and song.  McAuley residents were delighted to see the Christmas pageant unfold complete with colourful angels, shepherds, kings and their camels, the stable animals and of course Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus.

The beautiful Range Chapel provided the perfect backdrop for the performance as the St Mary’s children spread their Christmas spirit, making some new friends along the way.

Mercy Health and Aged Care Mission Coordinator Phillip Bauman was present at the performance and said the event typified Mercy in Action.

“To see the enjoyment of the children as they performed, the pride of their parents and teachers and the smiles on the faces of the residents was an absolute heartwarming experience,” Mr Bauman said.

St Mary’s Assistant Principal Religious Education Chris Murphy said the play was a long-held St Mary’s tradition that never failed to delight audience members.

“There’s a lot of children who have performed in this play over the past 15 years. It’s just perfect,” Ms Murphy said.

Ms Murphy said as well as spreading the Christmas spirit with some older members of the community it was a perfect way to focus children’s attention on the spirituality of Christmas rather than the commercial aspect.

“It’s very important to us that the students know the true meaning of Christmas and when they open their presents on Christmas Day, they know that it’s Jesus birthday we are celebrating,” Ms Murphy said.

The students also performed the play for parents and St Mary’s community at the school’s end of year Christmas celebration evening.