As stated in our school prayer ‘We are blessed to have our school founded in the tradition of St Francis and in the name of Mary.’ In St Francis of Assisi and Mary of the Nativity we have two outstanding models of discipleship for our community to learn from and follow. Both our patrons teach us about the love of God, the importance of faith and the need to trust in God. Throughout their lives both St Francis and Mary demonstrated a complete willingness to do what God asked of them and both drew on their love of God and faith to overcome difficulties and hardship. As we deepen our knowledge of St Francis and Mary they show us a path to God and help us to know Him more fully.

Our school owes a debt of gratitude to the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary who infused Our Lady of the Nativity School with Franciscan values and a strong devotion to Mary of the Nativity. In naming one of our buildings the Greccio Learning centre (a name chosen by Sr Majella Tracey fmm) we acknowledge the great devotion that St Francis had for Mary and the Christ Child and in recognition that it was St Francis who began the tradition of the re-enacting the Nativity scene at Christmas time. The Italian village where this re-enactment took place was Greccio. A treasured piece of artwork in the entrance of our school depicts Franciscan monks creating a nativity scene – the stories of our patrons joined as one!