District Newsletter - March 2007

My Dear Brethren,

The highlight of this new year has undoubtedly been the Solemn Blessing of the Corpus Christi Church at Tynong by our Superior-General, Bishop Fellay, on Saturday 10th March which was combined with the tenth anniversary of St. Thomas Aquinas College.

This was indeed a very memorable day and we are so grateful to the bishop for being present at this great event especially as he had just completed an exhausting ten-day visit to New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia before returning to Europe the following day! He was accompanied by his second assistant, Father Alain Nély, who was visiting Australia for the first time. The ceremony began at 10am with the blessing of the church. This was a beautiful action whereby the bishop dedicated the church to the worship of God by sprinkling its walls, both inside and out, with holy water and marking out a Sign of the Cross from wall to wall across the floor while the Litany of the Saints and various psalms were sung. Then followed Pontifical High Mass in the grand and spacious sanctuary of the church. It was a splendid and uplifting experience indeed!

Five years have already passed since the Society purchased the church property at Tynong (which is quite separate from the College) to provide a proper place of worship for the rapidly expanding congregation and a suitable residence for the priests. The “church” was an enormous and very utilitarian farm shed which was formerly used as an agricultural exhibition centre. At the time I announced its purchase in a previous letter I stated: “with time, imagination – and money – it will make a splendid church”. Deo gratias this has now been achieved, although it has been necessary for the congregation to borrow money to arrive at the final result!

The huge shed has been divided in two and serves as a church and hall. Although the latter is still in its original state the church has been completely transformed with a shallow vaulted ceiling, chequer patterned floor tiles and lovely stained glass windows representing various incidents in the life of Our Lord. One side of the church has windows depicting all twelve apostles and on the opposite side are three large altars in Renaissance style dedicated to the Sacred Heart, Our Lady and St. Joseph. The sanctuary is very wide with impressive choir stalls and a monumental high altar of marble. [see photo gallery here: http://www.sspx.com.au/gallery/?level=album&id=3]

All of this, however, is only stage one of the project. Once the debts have been settled the outside of the building will also be transformed with a dignified classical façade, the hall will be renovated etc. The church is very spacious and can comfortably contain about 600 people. It is, in fact, the largest traditional Catholic church in the Southern Hemisphere and a great credit to the Society in Australia and the generosity of the congregation in Tynong. If you wish to make a contribution towards the ultimate completion of this great church I will be happy to receive one and I thank you in anticipation….. for “the more grandly constructed a church is the more likely it is to entice the dullest minds to prayer and bend the most stubborn to supplication”. In the afternoon a concert to celebrate the tenth anniversary of St. Thomas Aquinas College took place in the hall with various presentations of music and dance. The day ended with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

The College has come a long way since it began on 20th January 1997 as a remarkably small secondary school with only forty students, four teachers and five classrooms. Now it numbers almost three hundred students, twenty-six teachers and a large campus with numerous classrooms and other facilities. In 1999 the primary school was opened. During his speech at the anniversary concert Bishop Fellay observed that it is also the largest school of the Society in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore Tynong is, in fact, one of the most significant centres of Catholic tradition in the entire world. All of this in the space of ten years! It is a truly great accomplishment of which we can all be proud, particularly the founders, Father Angele and his school committee of parents and friends. Since then we must give credit to Father Loschi for his quiet and steady hand at the helm during the last few years of the College’s great expansion together with the wonderful support that he has received from the Vice Principal, Mr. Harley Chipperfield and all of the other dedicated and loyal staff. The Parents and Friends Association is tireless and relentless in supporting the school especially by organising the spectacular Dinner Auctions which alone raise more than $50,000 each year.

All of these tremendous sacrifices are now bearing fruit. By 2005 the College was ranking amongst the top 20% of schools in Victoria for the VCE results. Last year it ranked ninth amongst all of the provincial schools of the State. Individual students are excelling in various academic and sporting competitions. A beautifully illustrated book to celebrate the anniversary has been produced and is available for $20 as is a DVD of the blessing of the Church and Pontifical High Mass of 10th March. These may be obtained from St. Thomas Aquinas College, P.O. Box 500, Tynong Victoria 3813.

With regard to other news of the Society I am happy to inform you that Father Wailliez has settled in very well at St. Philomena School at Parkridge. The new school chapel there is being renovated at present after having been blessed by Bishop Williamson on 4th January. Father Bélisle who has done such sterling work as Headmaster during the last five years will now be spending the next year at the Society’s house in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. Father Sayed Elias has been appointed to take care of the parish at Rockdale and is assisted by Father Christopher Curtis who was ordained at Goulburn on 27th December. As planned, Father Johnson and Brother Eric Paul will move to Perth after Easter and will be replaced at Oxley by Father MacDonald. The Spiritual Bouquet of two and a half million rosaries for the Pope has been sent to the Vatican but no acknowledgement has as yet been received.

This year I will be officiating at the Easter Ceremonies in Fiji. Thereafter I will be visiting the Society in Mexico where I will pray for you all at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and then on to the USA where I will preach a retreat to the priests. I will therefore be absent during the entire month of April. Just recently a splendid property in Suva comprising a large house and chapel has been given to the Society by Mrs. Mary Shaw of Wellington, New Zealand as a legacy from her late husband, Jack.

For years the Shaws have been most faithful and incredibly generous benefactors of the Society in both Fiji and New Zealand and we will always be grateful to them. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Mr. Shaw.

All of the Fathers join with me in wishing you a happy and blessed Easter.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Father Edward Black
District Superior