THOUSANDS of school students and parishioners from around south-east Queensland will make their way to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on July 30 for separate events celebrating the “grace, tradition and spirited future” of Brisbane archdiocese.
A spokesman for the organisers Damien Brennan, who is Brisbane Catholic Education’s religious education and curriculum services director, said the events, celebrating the sesquicentenary (150 years) of the archdiocese, would be part of the day’s three major facets starting with a mid-morning gathering.
“The morning prayer celebration for students in Catholic schools will include scripture and prayer to reflect the one-hundred-and-fifty years of the Church’s formal existence (in Brisbane),” Mr Brennan said.
“Prior to this event in the outside area (of the convention centre’s Great Hall) the schools involved will present vignettes of dramatic presentation of different eras of the Church.”
About 3000 students will be at the prayer gathering which will be led by Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane. Twenty students will be chosen from each Catholic school to be representatives at the gathering.
Mr Brennan said the second phase of the day would be a parliamentary reception with 300 invited guests including various bishops of Australia.
The evening event will be a Mass of Thanksgiving where parishes and communities will be asked to nominate representatives to attend.
Nominations for the evening Mass can be made via an online system.
“We have been graced by God’s presence through the ministry of Church and we have a spirited future,” Mr Brennan said.
“We will be celebrating the present and moving forward as people of hope … with regular worshipping people representing the archdiocese.”
A sub-committee of the sesquicentenary planning group, chaired by Mr Brennan, is fine-tuning the July 30 events.
