Stephen Hackett MSC, inauguration as Provincial Superior, Kensington Monastery
A description of today’s blessing and Induction of Stephen Hackett. Photos from Peter Hendriks and Kenji Konda.
Chris McPhee, as the outgoing Provincial, lead the ceremony today, as John Mulrooney had done six years earlier. The ceremony was held at the Sacred Heart Monastery Kensington.
It is traditionally a very simple service and today brief sections of the MSC Constitutions, and a paragraph of Chevalier’s writings were read.
The readers were:
Mark McGinnity - Director of MSC Education;
Catherine Molihan – Director of Province Care and Assisted Living;
Fr Peter Guy – Superior of Sacred Heart Monastery; and,
Bridget Hawthorne – Executive Assistant to the Provincial.
Stephen publicly professed his faith, which was followed by prayers of intercession by the community present.
Chris wished Stephen well and again thanked those who have journeyed with him for the past six years and gave the final blessing.
At the end of the ceremony, Stephen thanked all those who were there and told two stories.
- The first was when he was a teacher at Monivae College. One weekend he drove to Colac to celebrate masses for the parish. At the 7 am Sunday mass, a parishioner came a few minutes late and didn’t hear Stephen introduce himself, so he had no idea who this priest was. At the end of Mass, however, the parishioner said, “You must be a Sacred Heart Father”. The parishioner went on to explain his homily and presence reminded him of a mission given several decades earlier by an MSC Priest. Stephen was very touched by this and felt an affirmation of our MSC charism and ministry.
- The second story happened on his recent pilgrimage. One pilgrim said, “Oh the Sacred Heart is just the same as Divine Mercy”. In a homily Stephen gave later, he explained that the Sacred Heart Spirituality is unique and is not synonymous with Divine Mercy.
