Rosies Victoria celebrates 50 years of continued service to those on the margins. Come and join with them to acknowledge this great milestone!
Congratulations to Fr Daniel Szewc who graduated in very ‘low key’ circumstances at the Adelaide ceremony this December rather than wait for the Melbourne graduation, usually early in the first semester. Fr Daniel paid gracious tributes to the University and its ecumenical ethos, his local campus (Catholic Theological College) and his supervisors, Professor Austin Cooper OMI and Dr Phillip Gleeson SDB.
The AORC Gathering on Mission with Youth was an incredible opportunity for the region to come together and share, forming new connections and strengthening old ones. Although we are from many different countries and cultures, we are united in our passion for the work we do with the young people in our region.
It is with great sadness that the Australian Province of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate received the news of the passing of Fr Donal Madigan OMI, on the 14th August 2020. Fr Donal was a gentle, genuine, caring priest, always interested in people and their wellbeing, and with a big heart. He was very much a people’s person, gregarious and loved company. He was a devout priest who loved good liturgy and his fellow Oblates.
It is with great sadness that the Australian Province of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate received the news of the passing of Fr Don Hughes OMI. Fr Don lived a full and active life as a faithful Oblate and generous Priest and up until recent months, even at the age of 87, had been present in the Mazenod College Western Australia Community supporting students and staff.
On behalf of the Australian Province, we would like to congratulate our brother Bishop Mark Edwards OMI on his appointment as the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Wagga Wagga.
While the Oblates do not serve in the Diocese, we are delighted that the Oblate charism will be shared with the people of Wagga Wagga through Bishop Mark.
Please find attached the Melbourne Archdiocese Media Release. Link
On behalf of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate,
I would like to wish you all a Holy and Blessed Christmas.
May this season, often filled with so many things, be a time of recognising that God is here amongst us.
I would like to thank you for supporting us this year. We give thanks for the blessing of this year, especially the 125th Anniversary of the Oblates arriving in Australian, and we ask God’s blessings on 2020.
God bless
Fr Christian Fini OMI
It is with great sadness that the Australian Province announces the death of Fr David Shelton OMI, on 12th December, 2019.
Fr David had been suffering from a form of Lymphoma; he had just been admitted for scheduled Chemotherapy and died quickly and peacefully in the hospital.
Fr David was a missionary from the Anglo Irish Province and a great gift to the Australian Province and Church. Fr David Shelton was born on the 25th June, 1941 in Stourport, UK, had one sister, and was educated at St Mary’s Colwyn Bay, Wales. He joined the Oblates in 1958 at Cahermoyle, Ireland, studied at Belmont and Piltown, and was ordained 11th February, 1968 in Birmingham.
His first obedience was to Australia, and he spent from 1968 to the end of 1970 as assistant priest at Hillcrest Parish, SA. In 1971 he went to Indonesia as one of the first 4 Oblate missionaries, with Kevin Casey, Pat Moroney and Pat Slattery, and worked in Purwokerto East and then Cilacap with Kevin Casey.
In 1983 he returned to Australia to be briefly the assistant priest at Our Lady of Fatima, Rosebud (Victoria) then assisted at Sefton (NSW) till early 1987 when he went to be an assistant priest at Dernancourt, Adelaide for 2 years. Six years as Sorrento parish priest followed, then a year assisting at St John Vianney’s, Springvale North, then some short supplies in various places before settling in WA as prison chaplain based at Fremantle.
Fr David excelled in this ministry for well over 20 years with his great compassion and care for the poor, often building relationships with prisoners and assisting them and their families. Fr David had two big interests – tennis and Formula 1 racing. He traveled around following F1, to Melbourne for the Australian grand prix, and overseas. In March 2016 while he was leaving the Australian grand prix, he suffered a major heart attack and was out of action for the remainder of the year
. Fr David had a big heart, did little acts of kindness, was great with the down and out; he was loyal, with a wicked sense of humour, and loved food and drink.
The Australian Province thanks God for the gift of Fr David Shelton OMI.
(Requiem Mass details Mazenod College Chapel Friday 20th December at 11:00am Burial at Springvale Cemetary followed by refreshments )
On 28th November, we commemorate the martyrdom of 22 Spanish Oblates and 1 Spanish layman in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. Today marks 83 years since these seminarians and the layman were killed for their religious beliefs.
During the Spanish Civil War, there were anti-religious tensions, which led to the persecution of many priests and religious. The Oblate seminary in Pozuelo, near Madrid, became a target of these revolutionaries. Over three separate occasions, the Spanish Oblates were taken away from the seminary and were shot dead. On December 17, 2011, Pope Benedict beatified these Spanish Oblates and the layman.
An Oblate priest said that these “martyrs were killed as a community. They never became priests and they never became missionaries. But today they are witnesses. They are witnesses of genuine faith and of the Christian life.”
God our Father, we thank you for lives of the 23 Spanish Oblate martyrs who have joined the company of saints in heaven with you. We thank you for the gift of their courage and faith to spread the Good News of your Son, Jesus Christ, even in the face of persecution.
Help us to experience the courage to express our faith that these men were able to demonstrate through their love for you, especially in times where we feel persecuted or judged for our Christian beliefs and values.
May we continue to serve the wider De Mazenod Family, following the example of the Spanish Oblate martyrs and the Oblate priests of our community who continue to serve us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Link to more information and a short video.
Provincial Administration:
PO. Box 384 (649 Burke Rd)
Camberwell Vic 3124
Ph (03) 9805 8800
