If you had the chance to visit Italy where would you go? Venice? You could spend time paddling the canals in a gondola, enjoying a prosecco; a particularly popular type of bubbly that hails from the nearby countryside. Or Rome? In the region of Lazio (just like the Italian football team) it’s filled with antiquity and culture, and you even get a Pope included! Perchance Florence, where there’s art and beauty and hey…it’s in Tuscany…everybody loves Tuscany. As someone whose heritage is derived from this history drenched land; a land of old churches and fine food, fast cars and high fashion, where everything seems to have a dash of style and a pinch of chaos, my choice would be Gubbio.
Yes, Gubbio (the “u” is pronounced like the “oo” in cook) an unassuming little town in the region of Umbria (same “u” as before) in central Italy. Sitting on the side of Mount Ingino, this magnificent medieval jewel is famous for its Roman ruins, its beautiful Piazza Grande (literally translates to “big piazza”) and block after block of picturesque Romanesque and Gothic architecture. But seriously, why you might ask, Gubbio? Well…there’s the wolf…The Wolf of Gubbio.
The story is told of a fearsome beast that terrorised the local community. It would attack livestock, destroy flocks and herds, and posed a threat to the townspeople. Attempt after attempt had been made to deal with the creature and failed. The people lived in fear.
Just as all seemed lost, the spotlight came on and illuminated St Francis, 13th Century Saint, devout Christian and founder of the Franciscan Friars. Medieval superhero and all-around good guy, he was known for his deep love of nature and animals. Upon hearing of the wolf's rampage, St Francis felt compelled to do something to help the people, and appropriately enough, the wolf. He went to Gubbio to face the monster.
On arriving, Francis sought out the brute and in the nearby woods where it was said to dwell, he quite reasonably found it. In what could have been a violent confrontation, instead of reacting with aggression, Francis approached the wolf with gentility and calm. He spoke to the wolf as if it was a fellow creature of God. To the astonishment of everyone present, the wolf listened, understood and learned.
In an extraordinary act, St Francis proposed that if the wolf ceased its attacks, the people of Gubbio would provide it with food and care for the rest of its life. Offering its paw, the wolf acquiesced, and they all lived happily ever after.
What then, has The Wolf of Gubbio got to do with St Edmund’s? Well, for us here on The Hill, we have our wolves, our Wolf Pack, our Eddies Men. As young people they can be impetuous and prone to causing havoc. In the unbridled enthusiasm of adolescence, where impulsiveness and lack of forethought is common, they can be fearsome (anyone who has faced a pack of righteously hungry Eddies Men making a bee line for the Tuckshop at the beginning of break time will know this fear). Yet, if engaged, if they are approached with love and respect, they will listen and they will learn.
This week we celebrated Catholic Education Week and 160 years of Catholic Education in Ipswich. Fr Stephen, our Parish Priest, as a Franciscan Friar, will be well aquatinted with the story of St Francis and the wolf. We commenced with 9:00 am Mass last Sunday; our Archbishop, Archbishop Mark, Fr Stephen, parishioners, parents and students from schools around the Ipswich Catholic Community all came together in prayer. Today, we finished the week, again, appropriately with Mass and appropriately, celebrated by Fr Stephen. The Sisters of Mercy and following them, the Christian Brothers, have left a legacy of faith and learning. In the 21st Century that legacy continues.
Young wolves come in many colours with different talents and varied challenges. Some are strong, some quiet, some driven and motivated; there will be those who bear their teeth and those who are simply happy to sit and let the world pass by. Ideally, the Eddies Team is here so these young wolves can achieve their best outcomes. We support them, we challenge them; they will smile and they will argue but in all things, as parents and caregivers, as teachers and mentors, as a Catholic Community focused on education, we, like St Francis must approach them with respect and love so they can listen and learn.
In this 160th year, where once we would have been a school for Catholic kids, today we are a Catholic school for kids, all kids. We pray that we may guide all our young wolves to be strong and resilient, kind and respectful, gentle and reflective Eddies Men; men who have the skills to respond to their world, be independent of us and make a genuine difference in all they do.
