From Friday 5 June to Sunday 28 June 2009 the Icon Sedes Sapientiae was hosted by Catholics on Campus in the Religious Centre of Monash University's Religious Centre at the Clayton Campus. The Icon was presented as a gift to the University students of the world by Pope John Paul II The Great as a gift to students in The Great Jubilee Year of 2000, when he said:
"I entrust your journey to Mary, Sedes Sapientiae, whose image I entrust to you today, so that she may be welcomed as a teacher and a pilgrim…Mary supported the Apostles with her prayer at the dawn of the evangelisation; may she also help you." (Universities Need Credible Witnesses to Christ, 25 August 2000).
Members of Singles for Christ welcomed the Icon to Monash on Saturday 6 June.
On Sunday 7 June an open invitation was extended to University students throughout Melbourne to greet the Icon's arrival to Melbourne in prayer and adoration culminating in the Sunday evening liturgy in the Monash Religious Centre at a Mass concelebrated by the Vicar for Tertiary Students, Bishop Tim Costelloe S.D.B. and the Monash Chaplain, Father Laurie Foote O.P. We were delighted that our Orthodox brothers and sisters shared the visit of the Icon at their 10a.m. Liturgy that morning in the Religious Centre.
The Icon was taken to Australian Catholic University, St. Patrick's Campus on 10 June and from 12 June to 20 June, Mannix College had the joy of the Icon's presence in their College Chapel where it was venerated by students and staff, a witness to Mary's care and presence in their midst.
On Monday 29 June members of the Australian Catholic Students Association took the Icon on the next stage of its journey to Brisbane where Mary, Sedes Sapientiae, was to be the focal point of their conference from 8-10 July.
The presence of the Icon in our midst is a tribute to the dedication of Richard Houlihan, Co-ordinator of Catholics on Campus, for his dedication and devotion in ensuring that part of the Icon's tour to Australia should be hosted by Monash University.
Labels: Events at Clayton