MORE than 100 people gathered by candelight in St Stephen’s Chapel in Brisbane on August 25 for a vigil to pray for refugees.
Chairman of Brisbane archdiocese’s Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) Rick Sheahan said the event to mark Refugee and Migrant Sunday was a reminder that Catholics were called to be ‘people of hope, compassion – and welcome’.
The vigil was to have been held in the cathedral next door, but was switched to the chapel because of its greater intimacy, especially after rain kept numbers down.
The congregation prayed for a change of attitude towards people in detention centres and for a new respect for asylum seekers, so that they can live with respect and dignity.
The vigil was sponsored by the CCJP, the Centre for Multicultural Pastoral Care, Brisbane Catholic Education and St Stephen’s Cathedral.
