News and Information from around the Province
January 2006
Franciscan Friars
Committed to Regional Collaboration
Eleven Franciscan Friars who hold leadership positions in the
South Asia, Australia, Oceania (SAAO) Conference of the Order of
Friars Minor gathered at the Presentation Spirituality Centre, Manly
(Brisbane), 23-30 November 2005. Also participating was the General
Councillor of the Order for this region, Friar Ambrosio Nguyen van
Si.
Friars came from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Papua New
Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, West
Papua and East Timor.
The regular business of the annual conference involved hearing
reports from the member entities and discussing ways in which the
friars of this region can collaborate in promoting the Gospel
message in the spirit of St Francis of Assisi.
On this occasion, it was particularly moving to hear about the
work of the Franciscans in the areas affected by the tsunami of
December 2004 and the recent earthquake in Pakistan. In each of
these places – Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan – the
Franciscans are working with their religious brothers and sisters
and with local agencies to assist in practical ways with the
rehabilitation of the people made homeless by extraordinary acts of
nature, and helping to rebuild their lives. The friars attending the
meeting from these countries provided visual images of lifeless
bodies, distressed people and a devastated environment. However, it
was their first-hand emotional stories of the people’s courage,
faith and resilience that inspired those who heard the remarkable
stories.
Julie Morgan, the Franciscan Promoter for Justice, Peace and the
Integrity of Creation, presented background data and an update on
the progress of establishing an Asian office of Franciscans
International. The organization is an NGO within the United
Nations. It advocates for human rights and advises diplomats on ways
to ensure justice for the poor and protection for the environment.
It trains Franciscans on the best practices to combat poverty and
how to promote a culture of peace and non-violence. An office in
Asia will facilitate the human rights and environmental issues of
this region being addressed more effectively.
The friars also discussed preparations for the eighth centenary
of the foundation of the Order by Francis of Assisi in 1209. In the
three year period leading up to this anniversary, Franciscans around
the world will be engaged in programs of personal discernment and
recommitment as well as an examination of ministries and a renewed
outreach to the poor.
At the meeting, Friar Stephen Bliss and Friar Paul Smith were
elected as president and secretary of the Conference, respectively,
for the next two years. The 2006 meeting will be held in Indonesia,
followed by the 2007 meeting in Pakistan.
Despite wild storms on several occasions, the international
visitors managed a little sightseeing around Brisbane and environs.
The Franciscan parish at Kedron hosted the group for Sunday
Eucharist and Padua College Kedron presented a music concert. A
visit to The Crocodile Hunter’s ‘Australia Zoo’ to see crocodiles
was a highlight for some; others enjoyed the more sedate kangaroos
and koalas.
Some Notes on the friars
• Matthew Beckmann will represent the Province at the
international congress of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
animators of the Order in Brazil, 30 January to 8 February 2006.
Entitled ‘Embracing the Excluded of Today’, the congress aims "to
help JPIC animators to become aware of the different processes of
exclusions in present day society and to identify the most suitable
forms of accompaniment, in accordance with our form of life, of the
poor in their process of recuperation of their fundamental rights".
• Jivan Daniel was ordained a deacon in Singapore on 13
August. Jivan’s brother, Ravi, who had recently been ordained as a
deacon with the Jesuits, was also present at the ceremony. Jivan is
ministering at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Singapore, during his
diaconate term, prior to ordination for priestly ministry next year.
• Francis Erni who had been living in leased accommodation at
Orewa, north of Auckland, for the past eight months moved into the
former convent at Puhoi, just a little further north, on 9 December.
The parishioners have tastefully renovated the heritage building and
were seeking occupants as a source of parish income. Francis is
working with the Catholic Publications Centre which has been based
at nearby Orewa for some years and whose Director Fr David Blake has
recently died. Francis also has some involvement in the local parish
and with local Secular Franciscans.
• Noel Fauth moved from the Kedron parish house to the Adele
Street friary, Kedron, on 1 December and took up his role as
Guardian.
• Paul Ghanem has been given approval by the Provincial
Council to spend one year ministering in the Holy Land. Details are
yet to be finalised; tentatively, Paul will be away from mid-2006 to
mid-2007.
• Christopher Goulding suffered a minor stroke at St Paschal
friary, Box Hill, in early December and was admitted to hospital. He
has now moved to a rehabilitation centre in Donvale for a couple of
weeks. He is experiencing some problems with his vision.
• Barry Kirby moved from Waverley friary to Paddington during
November as Guardian, following Brian Lester’s transfer to
Riverside. Barry’s previous appointment at Paddington was in
1974-1977 as Provincial Vocation Director. Barry and Hugh Walsh
are assisting with parish Masses in Paddington and Edgecliff.
• Joseph Lee, previously ministering in Kuching, Malaysia,
has been given approval by the Custody Council and Provincial
Council to take up studies of Mandarin in Taiwan. Joe delayed the
course for a couple of years due to parish commitments in Kuching.
The two year course (2006-2007) will benefit his ministry in Kuching.
• Brian Lester assumed duties as pastor at West Tamar parish,
Launceston, in mid-November. For several weeks between Peter
Fraser’s departure and Brian’s arrival, Paul Campbell looked
after the parish.
• Arul Sagayaraj Mariadass completed a one-year course in
Islamic Studies in Egypt and has returned to Singapore. From 2006,
Arul will pursue a course in Spirituality at Yarra Theological
Union, Melbourne. He will reside at St Paschal friary, Box Hill.
• Alban Mitchell has had several treatments following his
operation in August to remove two tumours in the brain. The
chemotherapy and radium treatments have not been all that kind to
Alban and have left him a little weak. He is presently residing at
St Paschal friary, Box Hill.
• Tom Murtagh moved on 8 December from Regis Amaroo Nursing
Home, Ringwood, to Nazareth House, Camberwell (Melbourne). Tom’s
condition, following a stroke, is improving gradually with the help
of physiotherapy sessions.
• Theophane Rush will attend a Franciscan International
Program for Spiritual Direction in Canada, September to November
2006. Theo’s intention is "to use what I learn in a ‘house of
hospitality’ where people can come and rest a while in a Franciscan
setting and have available some kind of Franciscan spiritual
direction".
• Carl Schafer will move from Maryfields, Campbelltown, to
Star of the Sea friary, Waverley, in January 2006. Carl is National
Spiritual Assistant of the Secular Franciscan Order will set up an
office for his SFO ministry in the friary.
• Robert Stewart departed Kedron friary on 1 December and
will take up a teaching position at Aquinas College, Perth, in 2006
and live at the Maylands friary.
• Oliver Tham completed his nursing studies in Melbourne on
11 December and returned to Singapore on 17 December to take up
nursing ministry there. He writes: "I would like to thank all the
friars, especially my community of St James of the March, Box Hill,
under the guardianship of Friar Cormac, for all your support and
encouragement during my years of study. It has been a hard journey
but it has been worthwhile. Now I return to Singapore in the hope
that what I have learnt here I will apply it to the people of
Singapore. Thank you".
• Bernie Thomas and Paul Ghanem have accepted an
invitation from the Provincial Council to participate in an
international seminar conducted by the Comprehensive Course on the
Franciscan Mission Charism (CCFMC). The program will be held in Sri
Lanka, 13-24 February 2006. The objectives of the program are
three-fold: to understand better the Franciscan mission charism
through in-depth study and reflection; to strengthen
inter-Franciscan collaboration among the Franciscan family and to
come up with concrete plans of action for the ongoing promotion of
the Franciscan mission charism.
• Darko Znidarsic, a friar of the Slovenia Province, arrived
in Australia in November to replace Filip Rupnic who returned
to Slovenia. Darko will live at the friary in Merrylands, Sydney,
and assist Valerian Jenko in pastoral care of the Slovenian people
in NSW.
Friars in Formation: New beginnings
For the past three years, novices from Singapore and Australia
have made their novitiate at Maryfields NSW under the direction of
Theophane Rush. With John Wong’s completion of the
formators’ course in Canterbury UK in preparation for his being
novice director for the Province, the novitiate has moved to
Singapore.
Two novices have been accepted for the novitiate program in 2006
in Singapore: Vernon Chua who completed his postulancy
program in Singapore in 2005 and Harry Chan (originally from
Hong Kong and New Zealand) who completed his postulancy in Minto NSW
in 2005. The novitiate will be held at St Anthony friary, Singapore,
commencing on 3 January 2006.
Three postulants have been accepted for the pre-novitiate program
in 2006 in Singapore: Andrew Ng, Randall Ng and
Desmond de Silva. The program will commence on 9 January 2006 at
San Damiano friary. John Soh is the postulancy director.
There will be no postulants in Australia or New Zealand for 2006.
Paul Booth and Matthew Hufer will move from Kedron
friary to St James friary, Box Hill, in January to continue their
post-novitiate formation and studies. Paul will continue with
psychology studies and practical work; Matthew will complete a
theology degree at YTU while also part-time teaching at Aquinas
College, Ringwood.
Franciscans to leave Tasmania in 2008
The Provincial Council has decided not to renew the contract with
the Archdiocese of Hobart for the parish of West Tamar when
it expires in January 2008. Archbishop Adrian Doyle has been
informed and he expressed appreciation of the early notice in order
to make other arrangements. While the archbishop regrets the
decision, he is aware of the Province’s difficulty in providing
pastors for all of its present parish commitments.
In 2006, the friars will celebrate fifty years of their presence
in Launceston. Originally, the parish church was at Trevallyn, then
later moved to Riverside. Today, the parish encompasses three Mass
centres - Riverside, Beaconsfield, Glengarry.
Padua College, Kedron
Mr Robert Out has been reappointed as Rector (Principal)
of Padua College for a second five-year term, commencing in 2006.
During 2005, the College Board of Directors conducted a review of
the Rector’s role and performance through a process of consultation
among a representative group of staff, parents and students. The
consultation focused on the five key aspects in the job description,
namely the Rector as religious leader, educational leader,
educational manager, administrative leader and community leader.
The information from the consultation was collated by the Review
Committee and presented to the Board of Directors for their
comments. As part of the process, Robert also wrote a comprehensive
self-appraisal of his role over the past five years. A panel
comprising Friars Stephen Bliss (Provincial Minister) and Noel Fauth
(chair of the review committee), Dr Gerard Sammon (Board of
Directors representative) and Mrs Vicki Ward (Principal, Mt Alvernia
College) interviewed Robert using the collated information.
The outcome of the review process and the tone of the interview
were very positive and encouraging. The panel noted that Robert had
continued to develop the Franciscan spirit and ethos in
collaboration with the staff, parents and students. Robert’s obvious
commitment to Padua and the Franciscan charism makes it clear that
the areas identified in the review as challenges and potential
growth will be addressed in the best way possible for the benefit of
the college and its students.
Golden Jubilee of Padua College in 2006
Padua College. Kedron, celebrates fifty years of existence in
2006 with the first official function being a College Mass in St
Stephen’s Cathedral on Friday 24 February. Archbishop John Bathersby
will be principal celebrant. Other functions, including a musical
and an art exhibition, are planned throughout the year.
The college commenced in 1956 with three teachers and
approximately 90 boys in Years Four to Six. Friars Alban and Odoric
arrived to teach in the college in 1957, followed within a few years
by other well-known names: Friars Isidore, Hugolin and Benignus.
Today, the College has nearly 1000 students in Years Five to Twelve
and almost 100 people on staff. Over the years, the number of friars
in the college has diminished from its peak number of about a dozen
friars on the full-time teaching staff. Today, friars are
represented on the Board of Directors and as the college chaplain.
Franciscan Pilgrimage to
Assisi
A pilgrimage to Franciscan places in Italy is being
organized by
the Franciscan Provincial Office in conjunction with Harvest
Pilgrimages, 5-17 May 2006. Friars John Boyd-Boland (Kedron,
Brisbane), Anthoni Samy Selvaraj (Box Hill, Melbourne) and Giles
Setter (Deeragun, Townsville) will accompany the group.
Although the ‘Encounter with St Francis’ pilgrimage is subtitled
‘Franciscan Parishes Pilgrimage’, the invitation to participate is
directed to all people associated with the friars through our
parishes and other ministries, including family members.
Brochures and booking forms are available from the Provincial
Office on Tel 02 9369 9300. Interested persons are asked to register
with Harvest on 1800 819 156 before the end of February 2006.
Catholic Web
The Catholic Australia website is produced by
Church Resources, a non-profit organisation launched in 1997 under
the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. The new Catholic
Australia website contains a gold mine of information on all
things Catholic and provides links to other informative sites. The
Franciscans are major sponsors of the spirituality page. Check out
the site at:
www.catholicaustralia.com.au.
Four Star Morning Star
On 18 October, twenty-two Melbourne friars visited Morning Star,
the site of the former Youth Training Centre conducted by the
Franciscans, 1933-1975. The property is now a winery and twenty-room
"boutique hotel". The date was chosen specially as it was the
thirtieth anniversary of the friars’ withdrawal from ‘The Star’.
At ‘The Star’, the friars were given free reign of the property,
except for the old house which is now the private residence of the
current owner, Mrs Judy Barrett, who purchased the property in 1992.
For some years between 1975 and 1992, the property had been used as
a horse stud, but fell into disrepair. Three friars of the final
1975 community - John Lourey, Jude Lyons and Felix Chapman -
conducted an informal tour of the ‘facilities’.
The dormitory wing has been transformed to provide rooms for the
private hotel which opened in 2002 with a four-star rating. The
gymnasium has become a ballroom. The "acres of sweeping lawns are
complemented by 300 varieties of roses and approximately 38 acres of
vineyards. The Estate is a delightful and unique venue for a variety
of functions and accommodation". (brochure)
The chapel has been restored simply and is occasionally used for
wedding services. A prayer service was held there to remember all of
the 62 friars and other staff who had worked at Morning Star and all
the boys who had lived there over its 43 year history.
To see Morning Star as it is today, check out
www.morningstarestate.com.au.
Jubilee Celebrations
All six friars remaining from the 1955 ordination group gathered
at St Paschal friary, Box Hill, Melbourne, on 14 December with about
sixty guests (friars, families and friends) to celebrate together
their golden jubilee of ordination. Present were Lucian Armstrong
(New Zealand), Michael Brown (Perth), Paul Campbell (Guildford VIC),
Timothy Elliott (Papua New Guinea), Romuald Green (USA) and Alban
Mitchell (Melbourne).
Stephen Bliss, Provincial Minister, presided at the Eucharist and
acknowledged with gratitude the widespread and significant
contribution of the friars to priestly ministry across the Province
and beyond. The friars remembered in prayer their confreres who had
died, the carers of those who were sick and who had died and those
confreres who had chosen other paths.
Afternoon tea was served for the guests and the reminiscences
continued into the evening when the friars gathered for dinner at St
Paschal friary.
Kedron Street Party
The Kedron Parish Pastoral Council initiated a street party
recently to bring the local community together. The event was a
combined project of the PPC, parish school and local corporate
sponsors. Turner Road, in front of the church and schools, was
cordoned off by the Brisbane City Council for six hours. Food
stalls, a barbecue, animal rides, a mini zoo and various forms of
entertainment replaced the traffic.
John Boyd-Boland (parish priest) estimates that up to three
thousand people passed through during the day. The Street Party was
not intended to make a profit, but simply to cover costs. However,
it was so successful that "a few thousand dollars" were sent to
Leukemia Research.
Franciscan Calendar 2006
The 2006 Franciscan Calendar features twelve colourful images
from a stained glass window in St Francis Church, Mill Park,
Melbourne. Each monthly image highlights an event in the life of St
Francis of Assisi and is accompanied by specially selected text from
the Major Legend of St Francis by St Bonaventure and the
Life of St Francis by Thomas of Celano.
Calendars are available for $7.00 each, including postage. To
order one or more calendars, simply send a cheque payable to
‘Franciscan Friars’ to the Franciscan Provincial Office, 47 Victoria
Street, Waverley NSW 2024. Please remember to include your name and
postal address. Alternatively, you may telephone the office on (02)
9369 9300 or email your order to
office@franciscans.org.au.
An invoice will be posted with the Calendar. The Calendar is an
ideal gift that will last all year.
Christmas Blessings
St Francis of Assisi is the inspiration behind the ever popular
and lasting tradition of the Christmas Crib. The Major Legend of
St Francis, written not long after Francis’ death, explains the
origin of the Crib:
"In 1223, three years prior to his death, Francis decided to
celebrate, in Greccio, the memory of the birth of the Child
Jesus with the greatest possible solemnity, in order to arouse
devotion.
He had a manger prepared, hay carried in and an ox and an ass
led to the spot. The brothers were summoned, the people arrived,
the forest amplified with their cries, and that venerable night
was rendered brilliant and solemn by a multitude of bright
lights and by resonant and harmonious hymns of praise. The man
of God stood before the manger, filled with piety, bathed in
tears and overcome with joy. A solemn Mass was celebrated over
the manger, with Francis chanting the holy Gospel. Then he
preached to the people standing around him about the birth of
the poor King, whom he called ‘The Babe from Bethlehem’."
The Franciscan Friars of the Holy Spirit Province wish you the
grace and blessings of the Christmas season. May God’s love and the
spirit of peace be in your heart and in your home. May 2006 be for
you a year filled with happiness, harmony, prosperity and good
health.
