By Josh McDermid
On March 19, 1923, the first nine seminarians begun their priestly formation at the newly founded Corpus Christi College, and so last Sunday we celebrated our 100th anniversary. It was a day of celebration beginning with Solemn Mass in Sacred Heart Church where principal celebrant Peter A Comensoli, Archbishop of Melbourne, was joined by his auxiliary bishop, Terry Curtin, Bishop of Bathurst, Michael McKenna, Bishop Emeritus of Sandhurst, Les Tomlinson, and College Rector, Fr Cameron Forbes, along with other priests who have served, or are serving, as staff members of the College.
Archbishop Peter A Comensoli preaching the homily
As well as being the principal celebrant, Archbishop Comensoli was also the homilist, and explained how seminaries are “meant to be growing, tendering places” and connected this to the College’s motto “De Te Vivere” (To live from Thee) and the Gospel of the day explaining that “it captures the notion that to be nurtured into something is to be grown from, to live from the source, the seed. That source, Jesus Christ, is the one who knew the blind man personally and offered him life by faith.” The Mass was further enriched by the music provided by the seminary’s schola, under the capable direction of Xavier Ryan.
Second-year seminarian, Renjith Joseph, and tutor in human formation, Marea Richardson
Guests were then served drinks and canapés in the seminary grounds, before coming into the refectory, known as ‘Cluny’, to eat lunch, all prepared by the seminary’s chef of the last 23 years, Jeff Blew. Between main course and dessert, we were also treated to three speeches from people who had been involved in the seminary as staff and/or students at different times. Firstly, Bishop Curtin reminisced about his times at Werribee as a rhetoric and philosophy student in the 1960s when seminarians ate meals in silence, wore birettas to chapel and first experienced Mass in English. Then Marea Richardson, who has led the human formation program for the last thirteen years, spoke about her sessions with predominantly first- and second-year students, and explained her joy at seeing these same men ordained and ministering to the people of her parish. Finally, the rector who was responsible for implementing Corpus Christi College’s move from Clayton to Carlton, Bishop McKenna, gave a broader historical perspective on the seminary from Archbishop Daniel Mannix founding the College, to the role of the Society of Jesus, and the contributions of the recently deceased Cardinal George Pell.
The ‘birthday cake’ for the College’s 100th anniversary
Finally, we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in honour of the seminary and Archbishop Comensoli cut the ‘birthday cake’. Guests were then able to view memorabilia from various stages of the College’s history and gather in the student lounge for tea and coffee. It was a fantastic opportunity to welcome people who have been involved in different stages of Corpus Christi College’s history and we will continue to mark this centenary in other ways throughout the year.
