Barry James Hickey
Archbishop of Perth
Decree Of Erection
Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary
Redemptoris Mater,
Perth, Western Australia
Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
15 August 1994
The Church of Perth, under the protection of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, has welcomed, with veneration, the appeal of the Holy Father on the eve of the third millennium for a new evangelisation.
The Archdiocese has been the beneficiary of countless missionaries whose love for the Saviour brought them over the seas to serve God’s people in “the South Land of the Holy Spirit”. What was received as a seed has germinated and this preaching of Jesus Christ is bearing fruit in our midst today.
The sign of her maturity is now the opportunity for this Church to prepare and send missionaries to labour in the rich vineyard of today’s world. For this generation. the Holy Spirit has raised new apostolic realities capable of building the Church from the basis of a renewed understanding of the Gospel message.
Among these, the Neocatechumenal Way has assumed special significance and importance. This way, which is active at the level of the universal Church is bearing numerous fruits; communities, missionary families and vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
Sharing the collegial concern that the Holy Father John Paul II has shown for the Neocatechumenal Way and its ecclesial communities, recognising it “as an itinerary of Catholic formation valid for our society and our times” (Letter to Bishop Josef Cordes. Vice President for the Council for the Laity, 30 August 1990) and having seen the fruits of the missionary zeal of these communities in our own archdiocese, I consider it appropriate to the circumstances of our local Church to establish an Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary “Redemptoris Mater”.
In this decision I am encouraged by similar initiatives of the Diocese of Rome and of many other brothers in the Episcopate.
The new seminary will provide, in conformity with the charism of the Neocatechumenal Way, a formation for clergy which will be attentive and open to the missionary needs of the universal Church. In a special way this seminary will be open to assist the churches of Oceania and Asia because this Archdiocese holds a privileged position within Australasia and already has a mutual relationship with the peoples of this region.
Believing that our Diocese will be able to cooperate with this plan of the Holy Spirit, and having reflected upon this at length, prayed over and evaluated the matter with this
Decree
1. I erect the Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary “Redemptoris Mater” located in Perth, under the patronage of the Most Blessed Virgin and St Peter Chanel.
2. It is erected as an educational community to educate young and adult men to the presbyterate, as a public, juridical non-collegial person according to canons 115 §2; 116 §1; 238 §1, §2.
3. The Seminary will be governed by its own “Statutes” and “Rule of Life” which are attached to this decree.
Given on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth, Western Australia, on the 15th August 1994.
