Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In a couple of weeks’ time, we will celebrate Holy Week and Easter. With this newsletter I send my prayers and greetings of the Risen Christ to you and your families. Peace be with you all.

As we move into Easter it is a marvelous time to reflect of the presence of the risen Christ who is in our community and who welcomes each of us at this time to continue the mission of the church. This newsletter, which is being assembled by Sr Kym, once again outlines the marvelous happenings in our Diocese.

Last week I was in Bundaberg and I was among a group of Year 12 students who were commissioned for their leadership roles within Shalom College. It was a joy to meet up again with Mr Dan McMahon, the principal and his leadership team and then later to bless the solar farm that has been built at Shalom College. The solar farm powers the entire College and adds power to the grid. Congratulations to our Catholic Education Office and to Shalom College in this remarkable achievement of sustainable energy for our future.

Recently I gathered with the CentacareCQ leadership staff at the Haven for their annual reflection. Once again, we refocus the mission of Centacare being a Catholic ministry of the Diocese of Rockhampton and bringing the beautiful gift of Catholic care to many in our community. I thank Robert and congratulate him and his wife, Danella on the recent, safe arrival of their son, John Robert.

Just last week I met again with all the Centacare ministries for their day of formation and it was a great joy to be with our Centacare people as they continue to be Christ to our people in the various communities from Mackay to Rockhampton, Capricorn Coast, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Emerald, Blackwater and Longreach.

This week I begin Confirmations in the parishes of North Mackay. As I begin visiting the various parishes of our Diocese and celebrating confirmations, I ask for your prayers for the children who will be receiving the Sacrament.

Next week, our priests will gather for their pre-Easter reflection and on Thursday 25^th March 2021, we celebrate the Mass of the Oils where we Bless the Oils of the Sick and Baptism and consecrate the sacred Chrism for Confirmation. When the priests gather together, I thank you for your generosity for allowing them to spend a few days in prayer as we prepare together to celebrate the Easter Sacraments. The Easter Triduum is the most beautiful ceremony which commences on Holy Thursday night with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, on Good Friday the 3.00pm Passion and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night, where some of our parishioners will be receiving Baptism and Confirmation, and coming to the table for Eucharist for the first time. May this be a wonderful time of blessing to celebrate the Triduum in your Parish communities. 

The excitement around Rockhampton is Beef Week which is from 2nd to 8th May 2021. The Beef Week President, Ian Mill, invited me to a function with local businesses in preparation for Beef Week, in which I prayed God’s blessing upon the City of Rockhampton, all the organisers of Beef Week and the many visitors who will join us for the event. It will be a marvelous week showcasing the great produce we have in our Diocese. Towards the end of that week, I will be gathering with Bishops of Australia to commence our Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference. With COVID restrictions we are all looking at gathering together in Brisbane with the Provincial Bishops of Queensland.

I gathered with the Bishops of Queensland last week in Brisbane and we had our first day of meetings at the Holy Spirit Seminary. It was good to catch up with our two Seminarians, Peter Doherty and Grant Sutherland, after Mass on Monday in the Seminary chapel. In 2008 when Cardinal Levada opened the beautiful seminary chapel he referred to it as the workshop of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for our Seminarians, Peter and Grant, who have commenced their academic studies for this year and their spiritual formation. Pray that Mr Michael Otto, as Vocations Director for the Diocese of Rockhampton, gathers many more young people for the ministry of the church in the future. Our Deacon, Ashwin, is in Emerald and enjoying life in the ministry and I admire him for his energy and enthusiasm as he goes about doing God’s work. Please pray for Deacon Ashwin in these months leading up to his Ordination as a Priest.

At our Queensland Bishops’ meeting we discussed the very possibility of gathering our delegates for the Plenary Council in October. We are still considering how we will gather in Queensland as the Plenary Council has moved to the electronic platform for interaction. We are very much aware that life can change very quickly in these COVID days however, the Plenary Council will go ahead. This newsletter has an attachment Instrumentum Laboris which is the working document for the Plenary Council. I encourage you to read it and to be familiar with the discussions so far, together with the document Light of the Southern Cross. These two formative documents will form the basis for the discussion in October for the Bishops and the members coming from the various Dioceses.

In these last few weeks, in a new roll for me as Administrator of the Cathedral while I wait until mid-year to appoint a new Administrator, it has been with sadness that Jo Whitfield has resigned as Manager of the Cathedral Bookstore. The Cathedral Parish is now advertising for a manager part time for the Bookstore. It is a hope that the Bookstore can continue, but that will be only with the support of the various parishes and people of the Diocese. Hopefully as we move the Bookstore to an electronic online platform the manager’s role will be to order books and resources as required rather than carrying a lot of stock. I ask for your support in the various sacramental programs, liturgical books and religious items that you may have a need for in your parish communities and the various entities of our Diocese. Thank you for your support.

Finally, May the Risen Christ be with you and your families during this Easter Season.

God Bless