ST Mary’s School pupils were thrilled to have Father Gianni Notarianni visit specially to say mass with the whole school community.

Fr Gianni was once a pupil at St Mary’s many years ago when it was located on Regents Road in Great Yarmouth. This was in the days when the Augustinian Friars were a very large part of the school and parish. Clearly this made a very lasting and spiritual impression on little Gianni Notarianni as he has now been ordained as a priest and Augustinian Friar. He is based in Edinburgh but travelled especially to Norfolk last week to visit his old school and to share his gifts at a special mass celebrating individual talents. The school hall was filled with all the pupils and staff, and many of parents and carers as well as Fr Gianni’s parents! The children were also particularly taken with the visits Fr Gianni made to each of their classrooms later on in the morning where he shared tales of his school days, his gifts as a well recognised and talented artist having displayed at the Slade Gallery, and also the recent visit of Pope Benedict to Great Britain. He talked to the children about his involvement in the mass in Glasgow and that he had shaken hands with Pope Benedict - and not washed it since!