home | news l

Priest taking Aboriginal Madonna to France

29 April 2005 - Catholic Mission National Director Fr Terry Bell is taking a copy of a painting of the Aboriginal Madonna to Lyon in France as part of celebrations to mark the restoration of the home of the founder of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith.

The Propagation of the Faith is one of three societies administered by Catholic Mission. The Society of the Propagation of the Faith is the church’s chief tool of support for the day-to-day running of young churches and offers spiritual healing and practical assistance to communities with the greatest needs.

Each May Fr Bell attends a meeting of about 130 National Directors of Catholic Mission (known internationally as the Pontifical Mission Societies), usually in Rome. But this year's meeting is scheduled for Lyon, so the directors can take part in the inauguration of the house of society founder Pauline Jaricot this week.

Each National Director will bring a representation of Mary to the house on Thursday.

Fr Bell said he chose an image of an oil painting of the Aboriginal Madonna because of its unique Australian character. The original painting of the Virgin Mary and Child as Australian indigenous people hangs in St Mary’s Cathedral in Darwin.

Ironically the painting, completed in the 1960s, was done by a French artist, M. Karel Kupka, of Paris.

The house, which Pauline Jaricot bought in 1832 and named after the famous Marian shrine in Italy, has been restored over the past two years and will become a place of pilgrimage.

"The restoration will raise awareness of Pauline Jaricot, which is a good thing because we want her to be canonised," said Fr Bell. "The striking thing about her is that she was a girl of 16 when she started Propagation of the Faith. As a teenager she saw the need then found a way to address that need."

The national directors will spend four days at their annual general assembly discussing financial and policy matters and funding requests. They will also be addressed by the new head of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Archbishop Henryk Hoser, SAC, as well as the Vatican’s Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe. Although the possibility hasn’t been ruled out, the new Pope Benedict XVI is not expected to attend.

Fr Bell will also visit the town of Ars, the home of St John Vianney, the patron saint of Parish Priests.

The annual Propagation of the Faith Appeal is currently rolling out in parishes across Australia until September.

SOURCE: Catholic News

related links :

• Pope John Paul II’s Indigenous legacy
  17 April 2005 - Pope John Paul II visited Australia three times in his lifetime. The first, in the 70’s, as a Cardinal, during the Eucharistic Congress in Melbourne. In 1986 he visited all states and territories in his first visit as Pontiff and he came again in the 1990s to beautify Mary Mackillop, Australia’s first saint.
• Pope inspires Ecumenical Indigenous Commission
  28 February 2005 - The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) has referred to Pope John Paul II's landmark 1986 speech to indigenous Australians as a source of inspiration at a time when setbacks in reconciliation demand "rebirth".
• Australia condemned for `racist tendencies'
  10 July 2004 - The World Council of Churches has condemned Australia as a nation it says has "racist tendencies".
  
• Papal email reignites 'sorry' debate
  26 November 2001 - The Times (UK) - Pope's apology to Australia's Aboriginal population has put pressure on the prime minister to follow suit.
• Pope's apology renews calls for PM to say sorry Howard not swayed by Pope's apology to stolen generation
  24 November 2001 - Pope John Paul II's apology to Aborigines for injustices today renewed national calls for the government to say sorry to the stolen generations.
• Pope offers apology on the net
  23 November 2001 - The Times (UK) - The Pope apologised yesterday to victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in his first message to bishops via the Internet.
• Pope says sorry to Aborigines
  23 November 2001 - Pope John Paul II apologised to Australia's Aborigines and other indigenous peoples of Oceania for past "shameful injustices" of the Roman Catholic Church, in a message posted on the Internet yesterday.
• Church Leaders Take a Desert Trek to Bridge Australia's Divisions
  June 15, 2000 - Christianity Today - Leaders of nine Australian churches have completed a pilgrimage of reconciliation—a week-long 1,900-mile bus trip to Australia's remote heart.
• Papal Statement (Ecclesia In Oceania — 174kb text file)
• Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC)
  Aboriginal Issues - Statements & Submissions

Further information: culture issues page - includes news index and external links

|| click to go to the top of this page