Back to the West Wing, Kensington. Celebration of 100 years. And back to the photo archives.
Thanks to Roger Purcell MSC for story and photos.
The community at Sacred Heart Monastery celebrated the 100 years of the blessing of the foundation stone in the West Wing of the Monastery on 15th May, 2021.
Some statistics and facts
The Monastery was built in 1896 to house missionaries passing through for reasons of health and travel, and for the young men wanting to become MSC. In 1897 there were 6 people in residence and by 1907 there were 51 people in the limited space of the new house. There were 38 students and novices with staff, including superior, bursar, novice master brothers and priests involved in apostolic work. There were ongoing financial difficulties in paying for the building of the house, ongoing costs of accommodation and medical bills for missionaries. In the same time the new Province had been erected in 1905. The young Province was growing quickly and tested on many different fronts at the same time
A different motivation for the building!!
Men who were professed and ordained from here went on as brothers and priests to serve the Australian church in parishes, through retreats and parish missions and in the missions of Papua and New Guinea. The whole story is told very well in the history of Kensington in The Monastery of the Hill.
Celebration 2021
Our celebration was on Sunday 16th to allow our parish men to attend. It began with a blessing of the lower part of the West Wing and procession to the Foundation Stone, a recognition of country with a smoking ceremony, blessing of the stone again, reading and reflections. Some documents and photos were displayed in the main corridor inside as we remember those times and all the men who have been through the Monastery, all the work they have done and the people they have served.
We also note the erection of the new Province of the Pacific Islands, the process towards forming a Province in French speaking Africa, and in the future India and Vietnam. The Mission continues and many other young men are ready to take up the task.
