18 Oct 2010

1st Mass for St Mary of The Cross

Greetings from Rome.

Today we celebrated the 1st Mass for St Mary of the Cross.

The Mass was at the beautiful Papal Basilica, St Paul's Outside the Wall.

I was happy to be the Principal Celebrant, joined by many brother Bishops and priests.

Thousands gathered for this celebration including the Sisters of St Joseph and pilgrims to Rome for the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop.

The Mass was very special with indigenous leaders taking part and the Australian Catholic University choir was magnificent.

Congregational leaders of the Sisters of St Joseph from Sydney, Sr Anne Derwin, was very warm and generous in her thanks to all involved in the canonisation preparations and celebrations and especially the very special Eucharist celebrated today.

Click here to view the homily I was honoured to deliver.

18 Oct 2010

St Mary of the Cross

More than 8,000 Australians in St Peter's Square and hundreds of thousands around the world, saw a great moment in our history yesterday. Pope Benedict XVI presided over the canonisation of our first saint, a woman, St Mary of the Cross. It was a moment for us to be humble and also a moment to be proud.

As a young country with a minority Catholic population, Australia has done well, despite the unfinished business of effectively righting the wrongs done to the original inhabitants, our aboriginal brothers and sisters. We are also very fortunate to receive our first saint so early in our history.

Humble because here was a woman who suffered much and was treated very badly on occasions by her fellow Australians. Proud because our first saint had an extraordinary depth of faith and hope, which she used to persevere through every challenge.

Mary MacKillop respected and loved people even at their worst because she could look beyond their wrong doings, their mistakes, to see in them the dignity of the human person, the hidden Christ. She resolved difficulties with undiminished respect, charity and truth. Mary MacKillop is known to have spoken of an inner peace that no degree of pain could take from her.

Looking at all those people who gathered at St Peter's reminded me of the time when I was young and foolish and used to say Australians were not bad enough to need a saint. Fortunately I have improved, and changed my mind, at least on this issue. We all need saints. Catholics recognise Mary MacKillop as one of their own. All Australia recognise Mary MacKillop as one of their own.
     
It is not easy to become a saint despite what some critics claim, misunderstand or simply refuse to acknowledge. It takes hard work to follow Christ's teachings heroically across a lifetime. The Vatican conducts a detailed examination of the evidence over many years.

It is not a popularity contest or a talent quest. Saints are not made, they are recognised for their lifetime of holiness. Saints are presented with the challenges of their time, answer them and promote religious renewal. In Mary's case, she brought education and religious instruction to many poor youngsters, especially in the bush.

Mary MacKillop stands at the heart of Catholic tradition. She was unusual in her faith and prayer, in her ability to inspire others to join her, her ability to forgive as well as her loyalty to her fellow sisters and the Church leadership which did not always treat her well. She looked to Rome and the Pope for protection and she received it.

I wonder how many would have the strength to face what Mary did and still remain faithful.

Excommunicated by an ill-advised and spectacularly unwise bishop, treated badly by another bishop, who could only be described as a shocker, accused of immorality, financial irresponsibility and antagonism towards priests, she remained faithful to Christ, loyal to the priests and obedient to the bishops.

Mary MacKillop was certainly no weakling, even though she suffered ill health for many years. She stood her ground but always charitably and calmly. She wanted to do what God wanted and succeeded brilliantly which is why God blessed her efforts with so much fruit. Her strong faith gave her the tenacity to stick to her plans, to refuse to abandon her principles.

I think the reason why Mary MacKillop is so widely accepted by Catholics and non Catholics alike is that she was obviously very good but also very normal, not at all eccentric or pretentious. We claim her strengths and qualities as typically Australian.

Following this historic event I hope our young people especially will see a great deal to be admired in Mary and  follow her courage and determination, faith, hope and love.

She persevered in the face of adversity, resisted injustice resolutely, forgave those who treated her unfairly and followed a life of faith and prayer. That is an inspiration to us and will remain so for all succeeding generations of Australians.

Mary would say "never see a need without doing something about it". I hope all generations to come will remember those words, because they are the words of a holy woman.

Finally, during the centuries old ceremony yesterday, I recalled the simple words of Cardinal Patrick Moran in Sydney in August 1909, when he visited a dying Mother Mary of the Cross. He said to the Sisters: "Her death will bring many blessings, not only on yourselves, and your Congregation, but on the whole Australian Church."

And he added as he left the convent: "I consider I have this day assisted at the deathbed of a saint." Indeed he had.
 
Yours Sincerely in Christ

Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney

16 Oct 2010

Countdown to the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop

The last couple of days in Rome have been very busy. It has been a pleasure to have been asked to so many celebrations with the Sisters of St Joseph prior to the Canonisation tomorrow.

There are 130 sisters of the order Mary MacKillop founded who have made the pilgrimage to Rome, including 15 from New Zealand and a handful from Timor.

Yesterday there was a special prayer service at Pont Sant Angelo Methodist Church followed by a morning tea when I had the opportunity to personally meet many of the sisters. Our Ambassador to the Holy See, Tim Fischer and foreign minister Kevin Rudd were also there.

Friday night was very special. At the Vatican museum there was a wonderful display of Indigenous art opened by Kevin Rudd and followed by a presentation of Indigenous song and dance and the interpretation of Mary's life by ACU members.

When most people were heading home there was a very special private tour of the Vatican museum including the Sistine Chapel. It is always a privilege to see the magnificent works of art within the Vatican.

Joining the celebrations in Rome are Monsignor John Usher, Chancellor of the Archdiocese, as well as Auxiliary Bishop Terry Brady, Archbishops Hart, Wilson and Coleridge. Also Bishop Anthony Fisher from Parramatta is with us.

It has been good to catch up with many fellow priests and friends however we keep in mind the very real reason why we are all here, and that is the Canonisation of a wonderful Australian, Mary MacKillop.

By noon tomorrow, Australia will have its first Saint - St Mary of the Cross.

I look forward to telling you about the experience when Pope Benedict XVI announces Mary's sainthood in St Peter's Square.

Yours Sincerely in Christ

Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney

15 Oct 2010

A Wonderful Couple of Days

Greetings from Rome.

It has been a wonderful couple of days in Rome as we all prepare and look forward to the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop.

There have been many opportunities to reacquaint with old friends, make now ones and also show our appreciation for the way our government has recognised the importance of this event for all Australians.

An Australian government delegation has certainly been welcomed at many of the activities - including Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd and the Deputy of the Opposition, Julie Bishop.  Barnaby Joyce and Ursula Stephens are also here and of course our Master of Ceremonies on the ground Ambassador to The Holy See, Tim Fischer.

However, time for prayer and reflection has also been important during the week - fortunately Rome is not short of Catholic churches where a little 'time out' can be most welcome and necessary.

For many of the Sisters of St Joseph gathering here in Rome they didn't think they would see the canonisation of their founder, in their lifetime.  And although there are possibly other worthy considerations I doubt I will see another Australian Saint in my lifetime.

We had a special night on Friday when Ambassador Fischer hosted an evening at the Vatican.

This included an indigenous concert as well as an indigenous artefacts display at the Vatican Ethnological Museum.  It was certainly an amazing experience to see this display at the Vatican Museum in the evening lights of St Peter's Basilica.

I have a busy day to look forward to however I understand a group were taken on a special tour of the Sistine Chapel.  At 11 o'clock at night they were marvelling at the "Last Judgement".  I had to leave them in the hands of Michelangelo in preparation for another busy day.

Yours Sincerely in Christ

Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney

14 Oct 2010

My greetings from the Eternal City!

Have not been here in Rome very long and already I can feel an air of celebration in preparation for the canonisation of Australia's first saint, Mary MacKillop.
 
Each day more and more Australians are arriving for the Papal Mass on Sunday as well as those living in Timor, Peru, France, Canada and, of course Scotland, where Mary's parents were born.

Many are either claiming to be long lost and distant relatives while others have been great admirers for many years. Of course there are many Sisters of the order Mary MacKillop founded with Fr Tenison Woods - the Sisters of St Joseph. They are very much looking forward to getting together and celebrating this wonderful occasion.
 
The weather has been a little touch and go - raining one day beautiful the next. Let's hope and pray Mary is looking for sunshine on Sunday.
 
I have already been to our Domus Australia, the pilgrim house we are restoring and renovating in Rome. All is on target and looking very good, especially the chapel. I will have more on that in the coming days.
 
We have a week of dinners, concerts, tours. A very busy time culminating in the canonisation which you will able to see via our webcast on XT3 and the Archdiocese website.
 
I look forward to further "Reports from Rome".

Yours Sincerely in Christ

Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney