SPECIAL REPORT: ST CHARLES SEMINARY MARKS 80 YEARS OF SERVICE TO CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
St Charles Seminary has this month celebrated its 80th anniversary. The occasion was marked with a special sundowner on Friday 4 November – the feast of St Charles Borromeo - attended by past and present students and special guests. Opened in 1942, the Seminary was built on a property known as ‘Garden Hill’ in Guildford. It was purchased by then Archbishop Redmond Prendiville (Archbishop of Perth from 1935 to 1968) with the assistance of then Geraldton Bishop James O'Collins (Bishop of Geraldton from 1930 to 1941).
A few modifications to the homestead made it possible for the first students to move in and commence their scholastic year in 1942.
In marking the occasion, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said that for anybody who at any
stage made a decision to attend St Charles Seminary to try out a possible vocation to the priesthood, entered into a process that would have been, as he imagined, a very significant part of whatever then unfolded later on in their life.
“One of the things that comes to me from time to time as a bishop, and prior to here, of course, I was an Auxiliary Bishop in Melbourne. And prior to that, I was in charge of the formation of the Salesians in Melbourne.
“One of the things that happens to me from time to time, is someone who's in a seminary, or religious house might come and talk to me about the fact that they've discerned that perhaps they need to leave.
Archbishop Costelloe continued saying that occasionally, a person might talk a little bit about how they
think they made a mistake coming to the Seminary.
“And my reflection always is, well, maybe, but I doubt it. I don't think these things are ever mistakes. I think these things are part of the journey that every person has to undergo as he or she works out who they are, and what God's asking of them and what sort of person they want to be and what they want to do with their life,” Archbishop Costelloe explained.
“The other thing that I wanted to do with just a very brief reflection on the fact that today does happen to be the feast of St Charles Borromeo.
St Charles is a very good model for a seminary. Of course, he's remembered as the great reformer of seminaries after the Council of Trent.
St Charles, highlighted Archbishop Costelloe, is a good model for a seminary, because he developed a system of seminary formation that was meant to last forever.
“He was a good model for a seminary for a major and as a patron for a seminary.
“Because in his own time, and in his own day, he was able to read the signs of the times in the light of the gospel, and know that it was time for something new and something different,” Archbishop Costelloe said. The seminary was entrusted to the Vincentian Fathers in 1948 who taught secondary students and seminarians who had commenced their three-year course in philosophy and sundry introduction courses in scripture and church documents.
St Charles Seminary Rector Fr Phillip Fleay, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and Geraldton Bishop Michael Morrissey cut the cake on the occasion of the St Charles Seminary 80th Anniversary Sundowner on Friday 4 November 2022. PHOTO: SIMON
2022 LIFELINK APPEAL: HOUSING STRATEGY TO SEE 12 NEW HOMES BUILT OVER NEXT THREE YEARS
The opportunity to gather for a ‘Turning of the Sod’ ceremony is one which everyone involved in Identitywa’s Housing project gets pretty excited about!
Last month, Wednesday 12 October, Identitywa Board Chair Graeme Mander, members of the Identitywa
Board, CEO Marina Re, Mayor of Cannington Patrick Hall, General Manager of building partner INKA, Danielle Devereux, and key INKA staff gathered to pick up their shovels as a sign of commencing the next building project located in East Cannington.
“Identitywa has a Housing Strategy, and a strong commitment to providing high-quality housing that will see over 12 new homes built in a three-year period,” explained Graeme Mander.
“This site was part of parish land owned by St Francis Parish and, more recently St Joseph’s Queens Park Parish. We are grateful to the Archdiocese of Perth for enabling this development to proceed,” he said.
Three state-of-the-art homes will be built, one for participants who require high physical support and two for those who require homes with improved liveability.
“A total of 10 people will be able to live in these high-quality homes,” said Graeme.
“INKA is the builder once again, continuing our solid relationship with them as a preferred builder for Identitywa homes.
Mayor Hall said it was important for the City of Cannington to support diverse housing options.
DR DEBRA SAYCE HUMBLED AND HONOURED TO RECEIVE EDUCATIONAL LEADER AWARD
Catholic Education WA Executive Director, Dr Debra Sayce was honoured with the ACEL Pre-eminent Educational Leader Award at the ACEL WA 2022 Awards. Speaking at the event, Dr Sayce said she is deeply humbled and honoured
to receive this award.
“However, in receiving the award, I receive it on behalf of the 158 Catholic school principals, their leadership team and Catholic education office personnel,” Dr Sayce said. “I recognise this award is truly about a flourishing
Catholic education system where our students are provided with a quality faith-based education, enabling them to grow in their confidence, creativity, curiosity, and contribution – it is our schools – the leaders and staff who are at the coal face. They make a difference in a young person’s life.”
“I also want to say that Catholic education doesn’t operate in a vacuum. In my five years in this role, I have had excellent engagement, support, problem-solving and collaboration with the DoE, AISWA, and the school curriculum authority – needless to say, I have very strong working relationships with the Director General of Education, Executive Director of AISWA and SCSA Executive Director.”
Identitywa Board Chair Graeme Mander, members of the Identitywa Board, CEO Marina Re, Mayor of Cannington Patrick Hall, General Manager of building partner INKA, Danielle Devereux, and key INKA staff gathered to pick up their shovels as a sign of commencing the next building project located in East Cannington. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.
Catholic Education WA Executive Director, Dr Debra Sayce was honoured with the ACEL Pre-eminent Educational Leader Award at the ACEL WA 2022 Awards. PHOTO: MATT BIOCICH.
BISHOPS FORMALLY APPROVE PLENARY COUNCIL ACTS, DECREES
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has formally approved the acts and decrees of the Fifth Plenary Council, which will now be sent to the Apostolic See for review.
The documents, which comprise five volumes across hundreds of pages, were received at the Bishops Conference’s plenary meeting last week.
As the acts and decrees were received, the bishops sang the Te Deum, acknowledging the solemnity of the moment in the life of the Church in Australia.
“It was quite a poignant moment as we sensed – once again – the significance of the Council in the life of the Church in Australia,” said Bishops Conference President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, who also served as President of the Plenary Council.
“In fact, my recent trip to Rome underlined how closely the Church around the world was watching the Plenary Council and how aspects of it are being lived out through the global Synod for a Synodal Church,” he said.
The decrees are available on the Plenary Council website, where they were published after the Council’s Second Assembly.
“What we have sent to Rome is what emerged from the two assemblies, but also what was uncovered during the earlier stages of our journey,”
Archbishop Costelloe said.
“They are, in many ways, a capturing of – as Gaudium et Spes proposed from the Second Vatican Council –‘the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties’ of the People of God.”
The Bishops Conference also approved the terms of reference for the review of the implementation of the Plenary Council. The terms of reference were set out by the Bishops Commission for the Plenary Council, which concluded its work at last week’s plenary meeting.
Plenary Council Vice-President, Sandhurst Bishop Shane Mackinlay, said the work of implementation – the Council’s third and final stage – will be critical.
“There might have been a deeper sense of excitement during the period
of preparation and certainly through the time of the Council’s celebration, but it will be in the implementation that the fruits of these years will be seen,” Bishop Mackinlay said.
“While the terms of reference and a means to review the ongoing rollout of the Council’s decisions are important, we have already seen local churches embracing the Council’s outcomes and the commitment to listening, dialogue and discernment embed itself.”
The implementation phase will see oversight and coordination for each decree of the Plenary Council entrusted to at least one of the Bishops Conference’s commissions. Those commissions will provide reports to the May 2023 plenary meeting of the Bishops Conference. Another review will be undertaken in 2025, with a final review report to be published in 2027.
The terms of reference for the implementation phase of the Council have been published on the Plenary Council website: www.plenarycouncil.
Guided by a new Strategic Plan, the University is delighted to be able to use its networks and connections to provide every opportunity the world has to offer to our students, staff and the University community. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.
ST CATHERINE’S HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY
RENOVATIONS DRAWS COMMUNITY TOGETHER
Recent renovations were completed, new furnishings had arrived, invitations sent out.
It was time for Open House celebrations for the Mercy Community as St Catherine’s House of Hospitality in Tuart Hill opened its doors to display the new space acquired for retreats, conferences, meetings, staff development days, individual hire and counselling.
This was possible because of a generous grant from Lotterywest. People who have previously used the facilities were excited to come and see the new rooms and those who had not been aware of St Catherine’s came to check out possibilities for their various groups to meet, meditate, work and socialise in a quiet place. It is common for the volunteers at St Catherine’s who work in the kitchen/ dining area to regularly be asked “what
is the background of this place? it has a special sense of tranquillity”. This is true.
Those who work for St Catherine’s believe that the work of the Mercy Sisters in the early years is the reason for the peaceful environment enjoyed today.
St Catherine’s was originally built in 1966 as a Convent for the Sisters who worked in the community. From 1992 St Catherine’s became a “House of Hospitality” as the Sisters moved into smaller accommodation.
Two Sisters remained at the House, Sr Mary Berry RSM and Sr Teresa Daley RSM, offering support to the surrounding community with retreats, workshops, prayer groups, counselling and sometimes accommodation if needed.
Speaking at the Open Day, current Manager Sr Elizabeth Nicholls RSM,
paid credit to the work of the many volunteers who help in the House and in the garden.
There are also a number of businesses who support St Catherine’s with consideration and kindness when something needs to be fixed or installed.
Sr Elizabeth herself is very capable with a hammer or spanner in her hand and often seeks advice from professionals in order to fix things herself.
Open House was a great opportunity for many from the early years of the Committee to come and listen to familiar stories and enjoy the new environment and of course catch up with each other.
St Catherine’s House of Hospitality Reference Committee with Sr Elizabeth Nicholls RSM – Current Mngr. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.