An Open Letter to the Australian Discalced Carmelite Communities

3 February 2002

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The relics of St Therese have this morning been transferred to St Mary's Cathedral in Perth. Our community here at Morley is now fast asleep taking some well-earned rest. Some would be lucky to have had averaged two hour's sleep per day while she was with us.

From the arrival of the relics at Perth Airport the response has been overwhelming. The relics arrived at about 1am on Thursday 31 January from where at 2.30am they were taken with a police escort to Morley where Archbishop Hickey with our community and 900 people waited for her with lighted candles. The Army carried the reliquary to the centre of out car park where Archbishop Hickey officially welcomed her to Australia. We all then processed into our church for Mass at 3am. After this veneration began and continued 24 hours a day until this morning.

The daily timetable which Fr Gerard Moran established was:-
1.00am - 2.00am Prayer before Blessed Sacrament.
4.00am - 5.00am Prayer before Blessed Sacrament
7.00am Morning Prayer.
10.00am Anointing of the Sick.
12.00pm Mass
3.00pm Reflections
5.30pm Evening Prayer.
7.30pm Mass.
10.45pm Night Prayer.
11.00pm Vigil.

As you can see it was a full timetable. It was very well attended. The mass attendances grew from 600 at the Thursday 12.00 to 1,000 at Friday 12.00, 1,500 on Friday night and by Saturday numbers were in excess of 1,500 at each Mass. Our church is fully seated with a congregation of about 700. 800 ? 900 came to each of the anointings.

There was never a time when there was no one in the church. By the weekend large numbers were arriving into the early morning. At the 1.00am session which I attended around 100 attended of which at least 25 were under the age of 30.

Confessions were heard from 7.30am till 2.00am. Visiting priests helped us. The work was constant. Many returned to the sacraments after 10, 15, 20, 30 years!!

The reliquary itself moved all to reverence and quiet. Yes it was for us a time of great grace when so many experienced the 'Little Flower'. Catholics and non?Catholics prayed together.

So great was the response that on the first day the ABC, The Australian, The West Australian, Channel 9 and Channel 10 were in attendance. Nationally the relies were on the 7.30 Report (ABC TV) and on pages 1 and 3 of the Australian. One reporter commented that the young and the old, people of all races venerated the relics.

Be prepared as the relics approach your monastery. People are only beginning to hear of Therese's presence. I expect that numbers will increase, and that you will be overwhelmed with pilgrims.

Fraternally,

Fr Greg Homeming OCD
Superior, Australian Regional Vicariate

PS. By the end of the days in Infant Jesus Parish, Morley, some twenty-five thousand pilgrims had come to venerate the relics of St. Therese.

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