ASSUMPTION Grammar School in Ballynahinch, Co Down marked the centenary of Our Lady appearing at Fatima with a Mass of Consecration.
Máire Daly, head of Religious Education, welcomed the school community, including the Missionary Sisters of the Assumption as well as representatives of the trustees and governors.
Each student and member of staff was presented with a small prayer book that had been compiled specially for the occasion.
Ms Daly referred to the Mass of Consecration as a "unique and unrepeatable moment" in the history of the school and in the lifetime of the students.
She said that Assumption Grammar was in spiritual union with the Church and all Christians who were remembering the sixth and final apparition of Our Lady at Fatima and the prophesied Miracle of the Sun.
The whole school community was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
RE teacher Noel Wilson said there had been much preparation ahead of the centenary event on October 13.
"In the weeks leading up to the Mass, students were presented with the significance and purpose of consecrating themselves to Our Lady," said Mr Wilson.
"They were given time to watch a DVD entitled Fatima - The 13th Day, A Story of Hope, which is a powerful re-telling of the Story of Fatima."
Explaining the RE department's approach, Ms Daly noted that the Second Vatican Council stated that "everyone should have a genuine devotion to Mary and entrust their life to her motherly care".
"We are committed to helping students grow in holiness. As St Louis de Montfort, in his classic True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, states, 'Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary - Marian consecration - truly is the 'surest, easiest, shortest and the most perfect means to becoming a saint'."
Offering students and members of staff "the opportunity to consecrate themselves to Our Lady's powerful intercession seemed the most natural thing to do" in the centenary of the Fatima apparitions.
Emma Rose McCloskey, another member of the RE department, said "it proved to be a very moving experience, a powerful witness as well as a symbol of hope for the Church in Ireland today".
