Italian Australians gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral on 29 May to pray for God’s blessings on their continued development as a vibrant community in Perth.
Associations and clubs from throughout the city joined Cathedral Dean, Fr Sean Fernandez, in a celebration enhanced by colourful regalia and the presence of two Carabinieri – Italian officers of law – in full ceremonial dress, and the presence of the consul of Italy in Western Australia, representing the Italian government.
The annual celebration was timed to coincide with Italy’s national day, the Festa della Repubblica, on 2 June.
The day marks 76 years since Italy voted to become a republic and 66 years since the Italo-Australian Welfare & Cultural Centre (IAWCC), which organised the Mass, was established in Perth.
Speaking with The Record this week, Centre President Enzo Sirna said the organisation was happy to coordinate the celebration.
“The Mass has always been a very strong and valued tradition in our community,” Mr Sirna said.
“And we feel there is a connection there (with the Cathedral). The Italian community put in a lot of effort and fundraising for the Cathedral development project, including funding from IAWCC for the baptismal font, so having Mass there is very special for us.”
The IAWCC established the first aged home for Italians in Australia in the early 1970s and continues to provide residential and in-home care support for Italian Australians.
The contemporary organisation teaches Italian language and culture to more than 10,000 students in Perth, most of them in Catholic primary schools, as well as nurturing Italian-Australian business connections and maintaining strong links with the Italian Consulate.
“There is significant interest in partnering in a lot of different areas as far as Italy is concerned,” Mr Sirna said.
“Qantas has opened up a direct flight from Perth to Rome, for example, and the (WA) Premier will fly to Rome at the end of June (his first overseas trip in three years), so from cultural, language and commercial perspectives, there is recognition of significant partnerships that have been created.”
Cathedral Dean Fr Sean Fernandez gave the homily for the Mass, which took place on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord – a celebration, Fr Sean told congregants, that celebrated a present lived in “memory of the future”.
“In the Church’s memory of the Lord ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father, we glimpse the future of all that is.
“Of course, we have more than a memory – the Lord is sacramentally present with us, baptising us, feeding us, forgiving us in the sacraments – making the future Kingdom present in our lives here and now …
“The Ascension makes these sacramental moments possible and opens the future up for us, ‘shedding light on the path to be taken’ (Pope Francis, Lumen Fidei),” Fr Fernandez said.
“The Ascended Lord points us to the future and invites to be his co-workers bearing witness to this future …
“Believe. Have faith. Do not be shy about asking. Ask the Spirit to fire our hearts with the vision of glory of our Ascended Lord and make us his co-workers – to make us his co-workers until his Kingdom comes.”
