By Josh McDermid
On Wednesday 11 May, the Corpus Christi College community welcomed the committee members and sponsors of the Priest Education Support and Education Fund, an initiative of the Knights of the Southern Cross (Victoria). The evening began with the celebration of Solemn Vespers presided over by College Rector, Fr Cameron Forbes, ably assisted by Deacons Peter Nguyen and Tien Tran. Vespers is an unfamiliar experience for many Catholics, especially as the psalms and canticles were sung, but our guests soon picked up the rhythm of this ancient form of prayer and gave a rousing rendition of ‘Alleluia! Sing to Jesus”.
We then moved into our refectory, known as Cluny, where our chef, Jeff Blew, had prepared canapes. This provided a wonderful opportunity for the seminarians to meet those who provide them with so much support. Main course was punctuated by the awarding of the Walter P. Martin Memorial and Cardinal John Foley Holy Land Scholarships to Jean Sebastien and Tue Pham, and the launch of the Archbishop’s Dinner by the Chairman of the Knights of the Southern Cross (Victoria), Mr Carmine Miranda. He revealed that the dinner would take place on Friday 1 September, at the Moonee Valley Racecourse, that the guest speaker would be Corpus Christi College’s very own new rector, Fr Cameron Forbes, and that the night would be compered by prominent race caller, Mr Bryan Martin OAM. This part of the night was concluded by a speech by the Knights’ deputy chairman, Mr Andrew Vaccaro, and a rendition of Oreste Ravanello’s polyphonic arrangement of O Salutaris Hostia, sung by the Corpus Christi College Schola.
Jean-Sebastien Gery and Tue Pham, the recipients of the Walter P. Martin Memorial and Cardinal John Foley Holy Land Scholarships.
The final phase of the evening was dessert and coffee, and more opportunity for conversation. It was a wonderful night, and we thank all those who made it possible, especially Helen Le Manna who generously funded the event. We encourage people to consider contacting the Knight of the Southern Cross (Victoria) if they are interested in sponsoring the Archbishop’s Dinner and/or to keep their eyes peeled for opportunities to purchase tickets.
