A letter from
from Robert Haddad

Dear Students,

Welcome to Catholic culture on Campus! This Catholic
Student Handbook and website are services for you, to enable you to be supported in your Catholic faith while studying at the University of Sydney, to inform of who we are, what we offer and how you can fulfil the deepest desires of your heart—to know and love the full truth who is Jesus Christ!

Starting university is a difficult time for most new students.
The old comfort zones have disappeared. University is a much larger and impersonal world compared to High School. Hence, the existence of the Catholic Chaplaincy and the John Paul II Centre, the Priests and the Catholic Society of St Peter as well as the other Catholic societies and groups on campus. We extend an invitation to join us in friendship and community as we worship the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the unity of his Body—the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

I still remember my days at Sydney University during the early 1980’s. They were days of transition and growth for me. It was while studying here that I first came to know and practise the Catholic faith well. They are days I will always treasure. It is my hope that many other students may experience what I did while studying at Sydney University and that their lives will similarly be transformed in Christ for the better!

2008 promises to be a huge year, probably our most significant ever. World Youth Day will make Sydney the Catholic capital of the world for one whole week! 500,000 young people from all over Australia and the world will descend upon our city to celebrate their Catholicism; and we will be right in the middle of it! As university students, World Youth Day is for you! Let us gather to walk, talk and pray together and be revitalised in our faith.

It is an opportunity no-one can afford to miss!



Robert Haddad
Convenor, Catholic Chaplaincy
University of Sydney