When Catholic Bishop Michael McKenna commissioned members of the newly established Cathedral Restoration Fund Committee on Wednesday night he compared restoration work on the Cathedral of St Michael and St John with the faith life of the people of the diocese.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He said the work we do with bricks and mortar ought go hand in hand with the work we do to renew the faith life of the local church.
“Over the years, different people have tried different things to repair the Cathedral – not always with success,” Bishop McKenna said.
“Sometimes they were just ‘surface’ repairs. Now that we understand better what needs to be done, we need to fix it,” he said.
Bishop McKenna said any work done towards the Cathedral or the lives of the faithful should not be ‘just on the surface, but in ways that make them better and will let them improve with time’.
The Bishop thanked the co-patrons and committee members for being prepared to give so generously of their time and talent.
The co-patrons are councillor Paul Toole and Maureen Pike and the committee members are Catherine Hines, John Fish, Glenn Smith, Maria Arrow, Phil Burgett and councillor Monica Morse.
Bishop McKenna also commended the Cathedral Restoration Project Committee which has been working on plans for the restoration.
He said the committee already has many months work behind it and many years more ahead.
Bishop McKenna then prayed for blessings on the project, asking “for the courage and faith to do the work God calls us to do in this moment, in this place”.
