The Maronite Eparchy of Australia will celebrate its Golden Jubilee next year under the theme, “The Maronites in Australia: A Journey of Holiness and Openness”.
The establishment of a Maronite Eparchy or Diocese, and the election of the first Maronite bishop on July 12 1973, was a historic event in the life of the Maronite community in Australia. It also pointed to the significance of the Antiochian Syriac Eastern identity of the Maronite Catholic Church.
The Jubilee Year is set to begin on Thursday, February 9, on the Feast of St Maroun, the Spiritual Father of the Maronites. Celebrations will include a national tour of St Maroun’s relics, along with the relics of St Charbel, St Rafqa, St Nehmetallah, and Australia’s first saint, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
“What better way to celebrate a Golden Jubilee in the country which has provided us Maronites with hope and opportunity for over 170 years, than to come together as one community, to venerate these saints who remain our inspiration. It is a chance for us to know more about their lives and follow in their footsteps,” said Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay, Eparch of the Maronite Catholic Church in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.
“This year is also an opportunity for us to seek to imitate the virtues of the Holy Family of Nazareth, and to celebrate our unique religious and liturgical Antiochian traditions and cultural heritage.”
The program of celebrations for the jubilee has been revealed along with the official emblem for the Golden Jubilee in 2023.
The Year will culminate in a visit from His Beatitude and Eminence Mar Bechara Boutros Cardinal Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Cardinal of the Universal Church, in September.
FULL STORY
Maronite Eparchy announces Golden Jubilee for 2023, unveils emblem (Maronite Eparchy)
