Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – On Sunday 29 June Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, laid the foundation stone for another Redemptoris Mater Seminary which the Neo Catechumen Way are building on Chester Hill, in the archdiocese of Sydney.
“The Way is a great religious family within the Catholic Church guided by Providence, and it gives great emphasis to the community and the priesthood ”, the Cardinal said.
The foundation stone is highly symbolic: a gift from the Franciscan Custodians of the Holy Land, it was taken from the crypt underneath the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. On its way to Sydney the stone was taken to Rome to be blessed by Pope Benedict XVI. At the moment the Neo Catechumen Way seminarians in Australia, 18 Australians and 11 from other countries, are staying with the Marist Brothers in Pagewood.
This will be the second Redemptoris Mater in Australia. The first, opened in Perth in 1994, has already formed 25 priests: half of whom minister in Perth, and the other half in other parts of the country. The new seminary in Sydney is expected to be ready by the end of next year 2009.
The Neo Catechumen Way is present in Australia in about 20 parishes in Perth, Sydney, Canberrra, Paramatta, Wollogong. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 3/7/2008 righe 26 parole 262)
