Continuing the support of the Christian presence and faithful in the Holy Land was in focus this month as the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem held its bi-annual national conference in Perth. Source: The Record.
The Order this year also celebrated 40 years since its establishment in Australia, which occurred in Perth in 1985.
Members of the Order from across the Asia-Pacific gathered for the May 30-June 1 conference, with many coming from interstate, as well as from Malaysia, New Zealand and Taiwan.
The Order’s Governor General, Count Ambassador Leonardo Visconti di Modrone, was present for the occasion, having travelled from Rome in what was his first visit to the Asia-Pacific region.
During his visit, he sat down with leaders of the various Lieutenancies to discuss the work of the Order in their respective cities and regions.
Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, who is also the Grand Prior of the Order in Western Australia, celebrated the conference’s opening Mass.
In his homily, Archbishop Costelloe reminded members of the Order of their duty to support the “living stones” of the Holy Land – the Christian people.
He added that the task and privilege of Christians to be a sign and instrument of God’s will for all to be united and in communion with Him.
“While this is the vocation of every Christian and should be real and visible in every part of the world, it matters deeply that it should be real and visible in that place where God first chose to reveal this truth in all its fullness,” he said.
“This, in one sense, captures the essence of the vocation of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; to be the sign and the instrument of God’s will that the beauty and liberating power of His love made known in Christ, should continue to be witnessed to in the place where it was first seen.”
The next conference will be held in Sydney in 2027.
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Support of the Christian presence and faithful in the Holy Land the focus for Knights (By Joshua Low, The Record)
