Our Story
OUR MOTTO
represents our College ethos, where our community believes in the dignity and the nurturing of the individual and seeks to follow, with courage, Mary's example of faith.
Our Name
Our College community chose the name Mater Dei after Mary Mater Dei, the Mother of God, who occupies a unique place in the history of salvation and, therefore, the Church. Her unique role has always received particular honour within the Church.
We hope by having Mary as our patroness, she will guide and help our community live out the Gospel values of her son, Jesus.
Our Motto
Our College community chose the motto, Faith with Courage, as it encapsulates Mary’s life and provides our community with a theme on which to base their approach to life. Many of us have faith but sometimes lack the courage to live it out.
Mary is the supreme example of a faith-filled response to the Word of God. In effect, through her actions, she accepted the gift of salvation on behalf of the human race. It is most likely that she did so in confusion and lack of understanding. In this context, the strength and depth of her faith are all the more remarkable. Mary’s faith continued to develop throughout her life and, at times, in the face of great personal sadness and difficulty. She showed great courage in holding onto and being open to the growth of her faith.
We hope and pray that all within our community will strive to emulate Mary in how she responded to God’s gift of faith and her courage in living it out. We believe the theme of our motto applies to all our lives in various ways.
Our Crest
Our crest is symbolic of Mary and identifies we are a College committed to Christian ideals. By presenting an image of Mary within our crest, she signifies a model of great strength and faith for our students.
The crest depicts Mary as a human being first and foremost and not some ethereal being above and beyond us. She was and is one of us. She experienced all the joys and tribulations of life as we do. The crest reflects the essence of Mary’s religious relevance to the Catholic Church.
“The crest of Mater Dei College reflects the essence of Mary’s religious relevance to the Catholic Church. In addition, it instantly identifies a College committed to Christian ideals. The crest is relevant to the 21st Century, and therefore, the design contains an element of timelessness.” – Graphic Designer of our College Crest.
The arch was chosen as the basic format for the crest as this shape has a historical connection with images of Mary in the history of Western Art. This reference to the traditions of church iconography links with the history of the Church.
The crucifix is the essential icon of Christianity; therefore, its inclusion in the design is vital but does not interfere with the image of Mary.
The arc of Mary’s halo with the horizontal line of the cross gives the image a robust and dynamic quality that reflects the energy of a secondary College.
The face of Mary is one of the most important aspects of the design. Her ordinariness about her face conveys her faith, courage and humanity. Mary’s face is in profile and inclined upwards, which communicates her relationship with God. The simplicity of the silhouette gives a feeling of gentle strength.
