Year 12 Mazenod Leaders visit Seminary
Five Year 12 Prefects join the St Mary’s Seminary community for “Come and See” Evening.
On 3rd May 2019, five of the Year 12 school leaders and prefects from Mazenod College VIC, visited St Mary’s Seminary, Camberwell as a part of an opportunity to “Come & See” the life and mission of the Oblates and in particular, the life of our seminarians.
The Mazenod School Captain, Elvis Tran, accompanied by four of his peers and Mrs Pier Bourne, Year 12 Coordinator, joined Frs John Sherman, Daniel Szewc, Andrew Chen and Brs Joshua Nash and Thuan Bui in the new St Mary’s Seminary. They began with a tour of the new Camberwell premises and were all thoroughly impressed. The school leaders and Mrs Bourne joined the community for their evening prayers and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, before sharing pizza for dinner and lively conversation. It was a great opportunity for these young men to have an inside look into an Oblate community and specifically the formation community. They had many questions and were able to discuss these with our Oblates over dinner. These young men are coming to a crucial point in their lives where they are discerning what to do after school and this evening provided them with an insight into one great possibility, whether they are called to be Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
Please keep these young men in your prayers as they continue through Year 12 and into their futures. Please continue to pray for Oblate vocations and if you are interested in joining in a “Come and See” you can find information here about the next one on 24-25 May.
Oblate Day - 17th February
17th February, Oblate Day. Read about the festivities marking the 193rd anniversary of our order.
On Sunday 17th February, Oblates all over the world celebrated our 193rd Anniversary of Papal Approbation, or in other words, we commemorated the day on which Pope Leo XII officially validated the work of Eugene and his Missionaries of Provence and officially approved the order as the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It has become a great tradition for Oblate communities to come together and celebrate our history, our present community and the future to come. Oblates traditionally renew their vows on this day and also consecrate themselves to Mary Immaculate, the patroness of our congregation.
It was fortunate that this year the feast fell on Sunday and allowed us to mark the occasion with even more celebration. A mass was held in the Seminary chapel with the two Camberwell communities. We were lucky to have Fr Gerard Conlan OMI with us to celebrate, while he is back from Kenya for a short while. The mass was followed by a lovely, celebratory lunch and of course great Oblate community frivolity.
We continue to pray for our congregation, for all our Oblate priests, brothers, sisters and lay associates that they may continue to live out the charism of St Eugene in our time, proclaiming the love of God to the poor and most abandoned. We pray for vocations and the continuation of our ministries.
To read the Address from the Superior General for the occasion, click here.
200th Anniversary of the Oblate Rule around the Australian Province
All around the Australian Province this week we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the First Oblate Rule.
From the afternoon of the 31st October until the morning of the 1st November, the Camberwell communities celebrated the 200th Anniversary of our Oblate Constitutions and Rules. The St Mary’s seminary community, joined by the Provincial House community, held afternoon and evening prayers along with a celebratory dinner and night prayers on the 31st October to usher in this historic celebration. At 3:00pm the seminary community prayed their first prayers in their very new seminary chapel. At 5:00pm they were joined by the Provincial House community and young men associated with the Oblates in Victoria. This was followed by a three-course Provençal dinner, which celebrated in true french style, this wonderful anniversary harking back to the original days of our order in Provence, France. That evening, the office for All Saints was read and vigil prayers were said to conclude the evening. The next morning, bright and early, the Provincial and Council joined the Seminary community for morning prayers and mass, which included the blessing of new vestments for the chapel. The mass for All Saints Day commemorated all our Oblate saints and the great missionaries who have gone before us. We concluded with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the renewal of vows and benediction from Fr Peter Daly OMI, Provincial of Australia. The newly re-established seminary community was very privileged that their first night in their new residence coincided with these great November feasts and the historic celebration of our 200th Anniversary of the Rules. May this celebration be just the beginning of the joy and generosity offered by the seminary community.
All around the Australian Province, the 200th Anniversary was celebrated, with adoration and prayers being shared with the parishioners of St John Vianney’s, Springvale North; students at Iona College and Mazenod College VIC were led in adoration and an insight via powerpoint into the first 10 rules of the constitutions. It was amazing to see many lay people with whom we work and minister sharing in this great occasion with us too.
New St Mary's Seminary Coming Soon...
Update on the developments of the new St Mary’s Seminary
The development of the building site at 647 Burke Rd, Camberwell has progressed successfully over the last several months. With walls up, windows in and rooms starting to take shape, the finished product is now in site. The re-location of St Mary’s Seminary to Camberwell has been an important step in the history of our Province to enable the Seminary community to be closer connected to the Provincial House community and the Catholic Theological College, where the students study. The site adjacent to the Provincial House was purchased several years back and renovations to the heritage-listed house and additions to it, have taken shape quite nicely to form the new St Mary’s Seminary. Development seems to be nicely on track and the living quarters should be completed by October, allowing the Seminary community to move in and slowly set up the other important parts of the building, including the chapel, library and community areas. This fresh, new facility will bring great advantages to our formation community and help form our young students to be the next generation of Oblate missionaries here in Australia.
See the following photos for the building progress so far:
