Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sydney (Agenzia Fides) - “Walk with Christ” is the slogan of a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament on 23 October through the streets of Sydney to mark the closing of the special Year of the Eucharist and the annual event of World Mission Sunday.
The initiative intends to highlight the close connection between Eucharist and Mission and make an important act of public Christian witness. In his Sunday Angelus reflection on October 2, Pope Benedict XVI emphasised the link between Eucharist and Mission and said: “The Eucharist in fact is the propelling centre of all the Church’s evangelising activity something like the heart in the human body (...) The Eucharist shaped illustrious missionaries in every state of life: bishops, priests, religious, lay people, saints of active and contemplative life”.
The procession will start from St Patrick’s Church Hill and culminate at St Mary’s Cathedral with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. Bishops of Sydney will lead the procession carrying the Monstrance as well as the relics of St Margaret Mary Alacoque flown in from France specially for this event. St Margaret promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus closely associated with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Catholic movements, associations, schools, religious congregations and individual Catholics have been encouraged to take part as a visible sign of awareness of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In preparation for the event parishioners are asked to write their prayers and petitions in the respective parish Book of Life , open from 25 September. Each Book of Life will be carried by its parish in the procession and placed in the sanctuary at St Mary’s Cathedral before the Blessed Sacrament .
Why the process starts at St Patrick’s Hill. In 1817 a rather zealous and determined Father Jeremiah O’Flynn arrived in Sydney with a mandate from Rome. He was Australia’s first Catholic priest, but despite the Pope’s mandate to perform his duties and celebrate Mass openly, the priest was forbidden to do so. In 1818 the British Governor had him arrested and deported. But Father Flynn was determined not to leave the faithful abandoned and deliberately left the Blessed Sacrament in the care of a prominent lay Catholic William Davis. Davis opened his home for those who wished to pray before the Blessed Sacrament which was housed in a little tabernacle of cedar wood. His house stood on the site of what later became St Patrick’s Cathedral. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 5/10/2005 righe 24 parole 262)
