FIRST nations elder Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann and Maronite Danny Abdallah are prominent Catholics chosen to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II next week.
They’re included on a list of ten Australians who will travel with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor General David Hurley to London for the funeral on Monday, September 19.
Mr Albanese announced yesterday that, in addition to the invitations extended to Australia’s heads of state, Buckingham Palace had wanted to invite 10 Australians who had made “extraordinary contributions to their communities, and who represent Australian culture and values”.
Dr Ungunmerr Baumann AM was the 2021 Senior Australian of the Year. She is a Catholic Aboriginal elder, artist and activist who set up the Miriam Rose Foundation to drive reconciliation at a grassroots level.
Mr Abdallah, a Maronite Catholic, founded the i4Give Foundation to assist families like his own who have suffered through trauma, and to increase community awareness of the power of forgiveness.
Tragedy for Mr Abdullah and his wife Leila Abdallah unfolded on February 1, 2020 when the driver killed their daughters Sienna and Angelina, son Anthony, and their niece Veronique Sakr.
In June this year the Abdullahs received a standing ovation after sharing their personal story with fellow Catholics at the World Meeting of Families in the Vatican – encouraging them to “hold on to Christ, embrace suffering and offer it up to the cross,” even when life is difficult.
Dr Ungunmerr Baumann and Mr Abdallah will be joined at the Quenn’s funeral by Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott, Senior Australian of the Year Valmai Dempsey, “local heroes” Shanna Whan, Saba Abraham and Kim Smith, the Western Australian Australian of the year Helen Milroy, the South Australian Young Australian of the Year Trudy Lin, and the Australian Racing Hall of Fame’s Chris Waller.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the invited Australians “embody an extraordinary contribution to our nation”.
