By Andre Sequeira
More than 90 parishioners from Saint John and St Paul Parish in Willetton took part in a small pilgrimage to the Schoenstatt Shrine in Armadale on Sunday, 16 October, for an afternoon of prayer and reflection and an opportunity to avail of the graces of the Year of Mercy by passing through the Holy Door.
Parish Priest of St John and St Paul, Father Thai Vu, Assistant Priest Fr Christian Irdi and Fr Greg Carroll also participated in the pilgrimage.
After a common welcome and prayer outside the shrine, the parishioners were divided into three groups, each visiting three different “stations of prayer and reflection” kindly organised by the Schoenstatt Sisters.
The first group was given the opportunity to pray before the Blessed Sacrament at the Shrine before singing hymns, praying the psalms, engaging in self-reflection and the other requirements for the graces of the plenary indulgence.
The second group was welcomed at Emilie House, to hear an informative reflection from Sr Lisette on the role of Mary as Mother of Mercy.
The third group, led by Philomena Theseira, viewed the recording of a shadow dance (a story-telling technique in which shadows are cast on a screen) depicting the life of Schoenstatt Founder Fr Joseph Kentenich and made their own set of bracelet rosary beads as a reminder of their visit.
Commenting on the event, Parish Councillor Edman Anthony stated that, particularly after his pilgrimage to Europe earlier in the year, he had been searching for ways to inform parishioners about the Year of Mercy and of Pope Francis’ call to take advantage of the year.
“This pilgrimage to Schoenstatt Shrine, Armadale, organised by our parish did just that,” Mr Anthony said.
“The program was very meaningful, giving us all a better understanding of what this call is about and what walking through the ‘door of mercy’ really means, especially when we prepared ourselves for the journey. It was really good to see a big crowd at the shrine together with our parish priests.”
Finance Committee Chair and acolyte, Norman Curtis, described the pilgrimage as having a particular “spiritual atmosphere right from the outset”.
“It was an uplifting experience. Especially the opportunity of walking through the Holy Door for a plenary indulgence,” he added.
Attending with their four young daughters, parishioners Joey and Andrea Carlos spoke of the experience as informative, well organised and spiritually uplifting.
“We enjoyed the video of the shadow dance and making the rosary beads. Most of all, I enjoyed attending as a parish community. The formation of the groups was a great idea, not forgetting the shared afternoon tea to conclude,” Mr Carlos said.
They both agreed that having the Schoenstatt Sisters visit their parish in Willetton would be a fantastic gift for the whole parish community.