By Anthony Barich
Archbishop Barry Hickey baptised six adults using a form of full immersion at St Mary’s Cathedral in a historic moment charged with symbolism at the 23 April Easter Vigil Mass. It was the first time such baptisms have taken place in the Cathedral’s history.
The six new Catholics were also confirmed together with four adults already baptised in other denominations during the ceremony; all want to start a Bible study group to learn more about their faith, together with three others who prepared with them over the past year but could not attend on the day.
“The baptism was the most moving part of the Easter Vigil; it captured the very essence of Easter – Christ is risen and they become new creations, went from death to life, from darkness to life – all the images we were celebrating that night. That’s the miracle of Easter,” said Cathedral assistant priest Fr Jean-Noel Antoine Marie who had prepared the new Catholics over the past year.
“They have changed now; they have this glow about them when I see them every Sunday when they all come to the Cathedral for Mass.
“On the night, they were living proof that Christ is risen. We made a point of them entering the baptismal pool from the west and emerging to the east – symbolising Jerusalem in the east where the sun, Christ, rises from.
“The Adult Baptism with full immersion into the newly designed Baptismal Font was a momentous and very moving experience, not only for the Catechumens and Candidates but for the whole assembly gathered into the Cathedral for the Solemn Celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
It was a scene replicated throughout WA, either by full immersion or, more commonly, at a simple baptisimal font.
Fr Marie said the Archbishop was also very happy to do the full immersion baptisms, as they had never been done before in the Cathedral and because it was his first and possibly last, as he has submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI.
In what Fr Marie called an “inspiring, spontaneous, emotional moment”, people in the congregation flocked to the rear of the Cathedral for the baptisms to get a better view, with up to 30 cameras documenting the moment.
“It was quite moving,” said Fr Marie, who ushered them into the pool with towels and thongs on standby after they went into changerooms to wear white albs.
Their candles lit from the Paschal Candle, the six processed back to the sanctuary to recite the Profession of Faith and for Confirmation after the baptism, newly dressed in white garments “as a sign of their Christian dignity”, Fr Marie said.
Four others who had already been baptised in other Christian denominations and received into the Catholic Church – William Maslen, Donna Chandler, Irene Margaret and Jasmine Wong – joined newly baptised Tegan Chubb, Romy Rohmann, Jaya Pydiah, Albert Falout, Joseph Mabala and Jasmeet Padam, to be confirmed by the Archbishop.
All 10 then received Holy Communion for the first time. Also for the first time in St Mary’s Cathedral since it was re-opened and re-dedicated in December 2009, three sacraments were offered in the one Easter ceremony – Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation. Last year, there was only the one sacrament – the Eucharist.
“It doesn’t happen very often; and all this happening in the glow of Easter; the church was packed,” Fr Marie said, describing the event as “awesome”.
Another three who trained with the 10 – Charmaine Soh, Patrick Jin Wei Ling and Aimee Yunarsa – will be baptised and confirmed by Fr Marie during a smaller Mass on 22 May at 2.30pm at the Cathedral.
Since the 23 April event, Fr Marie has received emails from the new Catholics keen to do more than just attend Sunday Mass.
“Two weeks after the event they are still talking about their experience of what happened to them; they’re glowing. It’s a day they shall never forget,” Fr Marie said.
“These people know this is the beginning, not end, of their journey, and they’ve expressed interest in building on this experience, having Bible study meetings to learn more about their faith.
“That’s very encouraging as they want to know more about Scripture, the Mass and the Sacraments, which we are planning to do within a few weeks. I’m sure this will attract others as well.”
The Bible study group at the Cathedral Parish Centre will take place in the evening, but a start date is yet to be confirmed. There will also be a thanksgiving Mass for them.
The Easter Vigil Mass also reflected the universality of the Church, Fr Marie said, as the newly baptised and confirmed came from a wide range of backgrounds, including German, Singaporean, Indian, Polish and Malaysian.
“These Sacraments made it an awesome experience. The energy was palpable and the Cathedral was alive – Christ is risen (and this was especially felt when) when we sang the Litany of the Saints as we all processed to the baptismal font after the homily and the anointing of the Oil of Catechumens in the Sanctuary.
More than 12,000 people attended all the Easter events at the Cathedral; the Saturday Vigil and the 11am Sunday morning Masses drawing the most crowds.