THE P RTAL
July 2015
Page 20
Sodality of Our Lady of
The Southern Cross
“I
n obedience to our Lord’s own prayer that the Church might be one, as he and the Father are
one, Pope Benedict XVI established the Personal Ordinariates for former Anglicans, and they were
to bring with them their historic Anglican Patrimony.” [The Little Catechism on the Personal Ordinariates for
former Anglicans by Bishop Peter J Elliott]
Pope Francis, building upon his predecessor,
widened the base of the Personal Ordinariates
to invite all baptised Christians, after due
preparation, to enter into full communion
with the Catholic Church through the
Personal Ordinariates.
The Way Forward
In response to the establishment of
the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady
of the Southern Cross in Australia on
15th June 2012, there has been a need to enter
into a form of missionary-mode and reach out
to all people in Christian love and fellowship.
At the present time there are ten Ordinariate parishes
which have been established around Australia, each
with their own parish priest. Unfortunate these
Ordinariate parishes are found in ten cities around the
coast-line of Australia and are many miles [kilometres]
apart. The Ordinariate in Australia does not have
enough priests to open a parish in every rural town or
suburb in Australia.
How can the Ordinariate minister to these many
scattered communities that are miles away from the
coastal-parishes? Similar situations exist in the capital
cities of each state where there may be only one
Ordinariate parish for the whole of that state and it’s
found in the capital city. The city of Melbourne has
a population of four million with two Ordinariate
parishes both on the southern side of the city.
The Formation Of A Sodality?
The Sodality of Our Lady of the Southern Cross has
now been active in the southern suburban region of
Melbourne since Shrove Tuesday, 2015. The Sodality
is a group of like-minded people, who meet together
from time to time to share their spiritual life and grow
in faith, built upon the Gospel message of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Sodality Meetings
The Sodality meetings are well attended and
supported by the local Catholics in the par