Jubilee joy as pilgrims head west with hearts full of blessings
By Wendy Shaw
In what must be one of the longest pilgrimages in the state, West Coast parishioners travelled four hours to Westbury to mark the Catholic Jubilee Year.
West Coast Parish administrator Fr Arokia Aruldas CPPS and three parishioners set off from St Fursaeus Church at Zeehan at 9am and arrived at Holy Trinity Church at Westbury four hours later.
Fr Arokia explained that parishioners had been eagerly anticipating the pilgrimage.
“The journey was really fascinating for all of us, as this was a first experience for the parishioners,” he said.
The pilgrims were welcomed by Meander Valley Parish Priest Fr Ben Brooks, Sr Val Becker of the Sisters of St Joseph, and Meander Valley parishioner Joan Walker.
Fr Arokia was the celebrant and Fr Ben the concelebrant at Mass which coincided with the Feast Day of St Teresa of Jesus on 15 October.
Fr Arokia reflected afterwards: “It was inspiring us to be people of God and pilgrims of hope in the world.
“The theme calls us to understand that we are pilgrims on earth and we are called to be pilgrims of hope.
“The Jubilee is a time for spiritual renewal, prayer, pilgrimage and conversion, with a particular focus on hope and addressing various issues of the world.”
After the Mass, Fr Ben spoke about the early days of Holy Trinity Church, which celebrated its 150th anniversary last year.
Fr Arokia added: “The pilgrimage made us to marvel on the history of the church and its magnificence [to] this day.”
Zeehan parishioner Eleanor Phelan said: “It’s a beautiful church with long history.”
After Mass, the pilgrims joined Fr Ben, together with Sr Val and Joan Walker, for refreshments and fellowship at the presbytery.
“We returned [home] joyfully with the heart full of blessings from the pilgrimage, cherishing every minute spent in the church at Westbury,” Fr Arokia said.
Holy Trinity is one of four designated pilgrimage churches in Tasmania for the Jubilee Year. The others are Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Ross, Our Lady of Victories at Lutana and St John the Evangelist Church in Richmond.