Marian Academy is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, with a roster of activities beginning with a mass at the Brickdam cathedral at 5 pm today.
In a press release, the school said the mass will be celebrated by Bishop Francis Alleyne and is open to the public. The school has an enrolment of 747 students though it started out “with no assets, no building of its own, a huge bank loan and a great deal of courage and faith, in rented premises opposite its present site, with 227 students.” It is currently Guyana’s only Catholic school.
The Roman Catholic Church “previously had a long and illustrious history” in Guyana; founding and operating three of the top five schools in Georgetown: St Stanislaus, founded by the Jesuit order, St Joseph, founded by the Sisters of Mercy and St Rose’s founded by the Ursuline order.
The church, through its various orders also founded schools in Berbice and in numerous hinterland communities such as Santa Rosa and St Ignatius.
According to the release until 1976 when the government took over operations of all church-run schools the Ursuline Order of Nuns who run the academy, had had a continuous history in education in this country dating back to 1847.
Marian Academy is run as a purely non-profit organisation as a service by the church to the country with all the proceeds being put back into the school.
Along with the mass, the academy has planned a series of events during the school year to mark the anniversary including the publication of a ten-year commemorative magazine, the launching of a Past Students Association, a week of environmental activity, the marking of World Peace Day, an exhibition of photos, a video documentary, a play and concert, an inter-house quiz on the school and an appreciation ceremony and dinner.