Seat of Wisdom inspires students to strive for more.
By Anthony Barich
The tour de force of the Sedes Saepentiae Icon of Mary and Jesus given to the world’s university students by Pope John Paul II has inspired students and lecturers around Australia to strive for the wisdom that comes from openness to the Truth.
University of NSW chaplain Daniel Hill, who hosted the Icon in May, said it has solidified the confidence and faith in Catholic students and helped wake them up to the realities and responsibilities of living as Catholics in universities and the wider world.
This was highlighted, Mr Hill said, by Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, who said at a Welcoming Mass at the University of Notre Dame Australia in Sydney in March that the Icon reiterated the importance of wisdom as the final aim of study, and being formed as a person through the pursuit of Truth.
Sedes Sapientiae is Latin for “Seat of Wisdom”, and is a devotional title for Mary which likens her to the throne of the famously wise Solomon, and associates her with teaching and learning.
Pope John Paul II commissioned the vibrant mosaic from Fr Marko Ivan Rupnik SJ in 2000 and entrusted it to the Catholic universities of the world.
Mr Hill, 25, said the Icon’s visit helped to unite in their search for truth in their academic fields and daily life and alerted Catholic students to the reality that “they have a specific role at university, and for the wider Church, to ensure Christ is brought to the universities, especially secular ones”.
Each group hosting the Icon has held formation and devotion opportunities for their specific ministry.
In Perth, Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton will lead a public veneration at the University of WA from 1-2pm on August 25.
“This visit is an inspiration to students and lecturers around the country. It will help them strive for the wisdom that comes from being open to and searching for the truth,” Mr Hill said.
“As we processed through the UNSW campus, we made it clear to Catholic students and everyone else that there is a Catholic presence here, that we’re serious about it and we want everyone to be there.” He said that Macquarie University students were heckled as they processed the Icon through their university, which Mr Hill said was a solidifying experience for the Catholic students and a learning curve for the hecklers, as, like World Youth Day, it elevated the reality that there was a Christian presence on campus.
“That experience was good for them as Catholics as it gave them a deeper understanding of what issues they need to face in a secular university”, and the importance of equipping oneself with the Truth to defend the Faith with love, he said.
He said the Icon’s tour also alerted bishops and clergy to the importance of universities and the formation of Catholic university students, and the great possibilities for evangelisation if they are equipped with the Truth and opportunities for solidarity that were provided by the Icon’s visit. University groups in Sydney, Victoria, Brisbane (including the Australian Catholic Students Association Conference), Darwin, the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Tasmania, plus Maronite and Melkite Rite youth groups and the Chinese Catholic Community have all hosted the Icon.
The Icon is currently in Perth from August 10-30 where it will be hosted by the chaplaincies of the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle, the University of WA, Curtin Universities, Murdoch University and the Catholic Youth Ministry before it departs for Adelaide.
Its remaining visit to Perth includes UWA (August 24-26), Catholic Youth Ministry chapel, Highgate (August 26) and St Thomas More College (August 27).
UNDA Sydney’s Convenor of Chaplaincy Services, Anthony Gordon, said that hosting the icon was particularly significant as Notre Dame Seat of Wisdom is the university’s patroness. The Icon has also visited universities and educational institutions in Greece, Ecuador, Peru, Ireland, England, Poland, Bulgaria, Chile, Spain, Russia and Rumania. It will be in Australia for 12 months.