76 Days to go!!
During the week of WYD our 225000 pilgrims will be attending what are called 'catechesis' in one of roughly 300 locations across Sydney. Catechesis is part of the heart of WYD and will happen each morning between Wednesday 16 and Friday 18th. At each location one of the world's bishops (and we have hundreds of bishops coming) will lead a teaching/Q&A session which will be followed by singing, prayer and Mass...and Mass is where I come in.
Now 250 of these sites are churches and chapels but 50 or so of them are commercial venues which means they need from Mass, from altars to candles and crucifixes right down to a box of matches. Much of my time in the first months I was here was taken up with organising the ordering of these items which all included the matter of the linens.
Each location would require an altar cloth (to find the altars that the catholic schools would be building for us), as well as a corporal, a pall, a chalice veil, lavabo towels and purifiers. So for weeks I was consumed with learning all about linen types and weaves and fabric prices (this short sentence may incorrectly give the impression that task was easy). Finally the order was placed and our hundreds of meters of fabric were delivered to the fabric cutters and then brought back here to HQ where I boxed it up and sent out round the country. Thankfully the good ladies at the Catholic Women's League (CWL) had offered to make up many of the items with the Society for Eucharistic Adoration (SEA) helping and also a group of ladies in Melbourne (I should add that the SEA is also making up the set of papal linens for the closing Mass which is very exciting!) We also have the Branches Project (a small charity begining educational outreach into India) making up the chalice veils in Perth. Just last week all the linens from the CWL arrived so that was a great moment! Then I took then home to my good mother Anne who embroidered them all for us with a selection of beautiful red and white crosses as you can see...
When all the linens are back and embroidered and ready to go there will be over 800 pieces which is several hundred metres of fabric. Although most people will not know the time and effort and dedication that so many people have put into these sacred linens for the people who had something to do with it, is there offering to almighty God, knowing that they will serve to contain on the altar the King of Kings.
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