Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sydney (Agenzia Fides) - In the year 2008 Australian Catholics will ask permission to open the diocesan stage of a process for the beatification of British born lay woman Caroline Chisholm, who devoted her life to social apostolate in Australia. Caroline is known as “friend of emigrants” for her tireless efforts to assist poor emigrant families who had come to Australia in search of a better life, homeless girls and unmarried mothers in the suburbs of Sydney.
The year 2008 was chosen because it will mark the 200th anniversary of the Caroline's birth (1808-1877): the Catholic Church will strive to collect as much material as possible and then make a request to the Congregation of Saints in Rome for permission to open the diocesan stage of the beatification process.
Born in England, at the age of 22 Caroline married Capitain Archibald Chisholm, a member of the East Indian Trading Company. They sailed eastwards first to India and then in 1838, to Australia, where they settled in New South Wales, near Sydney. Here Caroline saw the pitiful conditions of immigrants and worked hard to help them, calling on the governor of Sydney to improve their conditions. A fervent Catholic, her apostolate was mainly to help homeless girls, find them a home, a job and education freeing them from the trap of near slavery in which they had fallen.
The campaign for the beatification will include printing leaflets, and pictures with a prayer composed by Caroline, and also a web site. Caroline is known and loved in Australia. The government is supporting the Catholic Church in this campaign. After Mother Mary MacKillop, Caroline would be the second “adopted" Australian to be raised to the honour of the altars.
Despite some procedural problems, Caroline died in Britain, the promoters of the cause are confident: “Her faith and dedication to others were extraordinary. She could not have done what she did with human strength alone. Caroline responded to a call from the Holy Spirit to tackle in a Christian way the social problems of her day ” said Clara Geoghegan, spokesperson of the Friends of Caroline Association which is spreading her story. Already roads, districts, schools, hospitals and social assistance centres all over Australia bear Caroline's name. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 24/10/2007 righe 28 parole 289)
