Trinity Catholic College wins Bishop’s Shield

By CathNews New Zealand

August 28th, 2026

(Trinity Catholic College/Facebook)

Trinity Catholic College has won the 82nd Bishop’s Shield public speaking competition between Catholic secondary schools in Dunedin Diocese.

The college hosted this year’s competition for schools in Otago and Southland from August 7-9. The 2026 overarching theme was “Anchored in Wisdom, Adapting for Tomorrow”.

This theme followed on from Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, and the Vatican’s recent document on artificial intelligence – Antiqua et Nova.

The theme allowed the students to explore how ancient wisdom, faith and timeless human values and virtues provide an anchor as people navigate a rapidly evolving modern world.

The prepared speech category topic was, “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Why the modern world needs our age-old Christian wisdom to survive”. This referenced Antiqua et Nova. The Hibernian Cup for this category was won by Eilish Greene from St Peter’s College in Gore.

Trinity Catholic College won 10 categories overall in the competition and finished with 32.5 points, ahead of Invercargill’s Verdon College on 22.5 points.

A Trinity Catholic College Facebook post described the event as “a wonderful weekend of connection and shared purpose”.

The 83rd Bishop’s Shield competition in 2027 will be hosted by St Peter’s College in Gore.

FULL STORY

Media Release 2026 (Catholic Diocese of Dunedin)

We won!! Congratulations to… (Trinity Catholic College/Facebook)

What a fantastic weekend (St Peter’s College, Gore/Facebook)