REMEMBERING his first trip to Australia 20 years ago, Monsignor Donald Bolen closed his eyes.
“I don’t think I ever understood how wild and beautiful the world was before coming here,” he said.
Like most tourists, he recalled being “amazed” while snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef and standing “awestruck” at the foot of Ayers Rock.
But Msgr Bolen gained more from our nation than a bunch of typical traveller’s tales.
From Australian soil sprung his quest for spirituality.
A quest which has led him from his home in the rural Canadian prairies into the heart of busy Rome, and now back to the island continent where it all began.
Msgr Bolen works for the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) – an ecumenical body of the Catholic Church – co-ordinating its relationships with both Anglicans and Methodists.
Each morning he manoeuvres through crowded streets from his house near the Pantheon to his workplace in Vatican City, with a goal charging him along – to achieve communion among Catholics, Anglicans and Methodists.
With his knowledge about the PCPCU and his passion for ecumenism, he recently returned to Australia to run a series of educational courses at the Brisbane College of Theology.
It was there where he revealed if it weren’t for his maiden holiday to the land down under, his life might have taken a very different path.
“I had already completed two years of an English major at Canada’s University of Regina before deciding to take a year off and travel,” he recalled. “I thought I wanted to write.”
“But my time in Australia inspired me to ask questions – personal questions, like what was God asking of me and how was I to live my life.
“So I started reading books about spirituality and when I got home I switched to a Religious Studies major, focusing on Christology.”
It was his interest in studying religion, coupled with being raised in one of Canada’s diverse Christian communities, which sparked Msgr Bolen’s zeal towards ecumenism.
Upon finishing his university degree, he conducted doctoral research on the Anglican Roman Catholic Commission and was made ecumenical officer of Regina archdiocese.
It was while working for the archdiocese that he felt called to the priesthood and he entered the seminary. After his ordination in 1991, he returned to his work for ecumenism in the archdiocese.
It wasn’t long before his name and enthusiasm gained international recognition, and an invitation from Rome was on its way.
Msgr Bolen said the offer to work for the PCPCU in 2001 was a calling from God, and accepting it went without question.
He had just one reservation.
“It was difficult to leave my mother because she was in her mid-80s,” he said.
“I remember at the time she said, ‘it’s an honour you’re being asked to work there, but it doesn’t have to make me happy’.
“But it’s a great privilege to work for the Vatican and I believe what the council does is so important for the life of the Church.
“And, because I have a real interest in the area, for me, my work is extremely engaging.”
While Msgr Bolen acknowledged the difficulty associated with constantly striving to mend theological differences between the Churches, he remained an optimist.
“In ecumenism we have the phenomenon of one step forward, two steps back,” he said.
“We realise we are a long way from resolving all differences, but Jesus prayed to his disciples that they would be one, and if that’s what Christ desires then that is our goal.
“Relationships between the Catholic Church and other traditions have already improved enormously over the past 40 years.
“And while working for full communion among Christians is a long venture, little by little it will happen.”
Msgr Bolen is also tied to Australia by his ongoing link with the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, which is co-chaired by Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane.
The two share a strong belief in ecumenism, and Archbishop Bathersby said his city’s theology students were fortunate to receive lessons from such a significant figure.
“It’s a real blessing to have him out here to share his knowledge of ecumenism with us,” he said.
“He’s got a very deep understanding of the relationships that take place between the Roman Catholic Church and other Churches in the world, which is very important.
“The move towards communion is a movement of God’s Holy Spirit within the Church.”
Msgr Bolen agreed, and claimed he felt the Holy Spirit in himself as well.
“I can feel the Holy Spirit at work inside me and that is very satisfying,” he said.
“Life in the Church takes you to places you would never have dreamed of and brings out sides of you which you would never have thought possible.”
Unlike his first leisurely venture across Australia though, this time Msgr Bolen was here on business.
But he said if an opportunity arose, there would be one place he’d like to visit.
“Hopefully I’ll get the chance to snorkel through the Great Barrier Reef again,” he said. “That would be nice.”
