Vintage

It was two hours before dawn when we left home, two Salvatorians, a Priest and a Brother.  A quick stop at an all night coffee shop where we met two friends, our guide and an interpreter, and we left for Parola.  You may not find Parola on many Manila city maps, but there just meters from the waterfront and the docks lies one of the largest slums in the city.  It may no longer be politically correct to use the word slum; depressed area or home to the impoverished is the current phrase used to describe the hovels of the poor. 

Recently, I returned from the Salvatorian pilgrimage, in which we travelled through six countries “Following the Footsteps of Fr Francis Jordan” it was an incredible journey and through it witnessed the Salvatorian way of love and friendship.

For the past year Salvatorians have been celebrating the Year of Father Jordan, marking the life work, spirituality and charism of our founder, Fr Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan, and praying for the furtherance of his cause for beatification by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. On Friday, 19th June, 2009 Collaborators from many parishes joined with those of St. Anthony’s Church, Greenmount to commemorate the end of this special year.

After two years of planning and hard work, the inaugural a Pilgrimage of 40 Salvatorian Collaborators left Australia. Some pilgrims left Sydney and some of them started their journey from Perth, and others joined the group on the way. The group from Sydney was led by Anne Boulton and the one from Perth was accompanied by Anne Cullender, the main Director of the Pilgrimage and Fr Leonard Macionczyk SDS, the Spiritual Director of this endeavour.

Pope Benedict XVI is proclaiming a Year for Priests on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of St Jean Marie Vianney. It will be a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the call and mission of priests and to pray for the holiness of priests and for the vocation to priesthood and religious life. Maybe dedicate one day a month to this special prayer?