The Issoudun Pilgrimage, 2023, for Lay Staff in MSC Education Ministry.
The photos show the Monstrance that was given to Jules Chevalier on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee of ordination by the meres, the Christian Mothers of Issoudun.
“The Pilgrimage to Issoudun for the ‘LAY STAFF IN MSC SCHOOLS IN AUSTRALIA’ is a wonderful opportunity to connect intimately with the Chevalier story and gain new understanding of the charism and spirituality. The staff approach the week as pilgrims, not as tourists.
The pilgrims take the ‘outer’ journey to Issoudun and are invited to take the ‘inner’ journey. It is a journey to a sacred space.
The person holding it is one of the parishioners at St Cyr who does tours for people. She has great knowledge of the church. We were the first people she has showed the monstrance to. (John has noted: I now have some of Jules’ DNA on my skin!)
The prime reason for the lay staff to make the pilgrimage is so that they can deeply appreciate the vision and spirituality that inspires the MSC and OLSH mission in education. The deeper the appreciation the more they are able to contribute to the mission in our MSC/OLSH schools.
Anne McAtomney leads the formation team including Alison McKenzie and John Mulrooney.”
A Postscript from Yongki Wawo MSC
During this week, two MSC priests of the Australian Province (Fr John Mulrooney and Fr Kimi), three sisters from the Philippines (Sr Merle, Sr Sita, and Sr Ema) and 12 lay people who teach in MSC-owned schools in Australia made the pilgrimage to Issoudun and its surroundings. They spent more time in Issoudun in prayer and sharing, and listened to some inputs from some speakers.
The new Province First Councillor was also at Issoudun
This morning they went to Paris. I dropped them off at Issoudun station. I was really impressed by the spirit of humility and gentleness of all of them. Alison, Anne and Fr John Mulrooney, MSC as facilitators during the activity were so excited.
There is an interesting story with Fr John. Here's the story:On a recent Friday afternoon, after a meal Fr John told me that he needed a large box to fill with the Australian group's belongings, so that next year they could still be used by other Australian groups. After lunch, P. John and I headed to a supermarket in the shopping centre in Issoudun. We arrived just as the owner of the supermarket arrived at the door of her supermarket. The lady told us "the supermarket isn't open yet, it will be at 13h40." Seeing our enthusiasm, the owner changed her mind and let us into the huge supermarket. We went straight to the box section. We decided to buy two large boxes. After that we headed towards the car park. "That mum believes that we are good people. If she suspected that we were snatchers, then she wouldn't have let us into her huge store." This is the quality of our hearts," P. John joked to me.
