The Nation

Seminary a sign of new movement

A new seminary in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood is a sign of the growth of new movements in the Catholic Church in Australia.

During the official opening of the Missionaries of God’s Love Seminary – the work of a religious order that grew out of the Disciples of Jesus covenant community – at St Benedict’s parish, Melbourne's Archbishop Denis Hart prayed that all who entered its doors would be open to the limitless love of God.

Addressing a crowd of over 200, including consecrated MGL members on 5 November, Archbishop Hart said he had fully supported the building of the seminary and believed the love, witness and commitment of the MGL community would ripple throughout St Benedict’s parish, the diocese and into the wider community.

“For any diocese or religious order, the seminary is at the heart of what we are doing,” he said. “I am truly pleased the MGL Seminary is here in Melbourne.”

Moderator Fr Ken Barker, who founded the Missionaries of God’s Love in Canberra in 1986, expressed his gratitude to Archbishop Hart, parishioners of St Benedict’s and others for their spiritual and financial commitment and support.

“We have been blown apart by the generosity,” he said. “This shows the generous heart of Catholic people who want to see priests in the future”.

The new building will provide for the growing number of MGL seminarians, who have been based in several locations, to be accommodated under the one roof.

It also provides a chapel, office space, a library, seminar room, computer lab and gym. “It is my hope the seminary will be a place of deep prayer life and brotherhood that can bring forward a life of mission,” said Fr Ken.

“What we are doing here is very much in the heart of the Church”.

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