CRA Vice-President Sr Philippa Murphy FDNSC
Pope Francis arrived in Papua New Guinea on September 6, under a star-studded Port Moresby sky. The streets were lined with joyful pilgrims, holding candles as they welcomed Pope Francis to their beloved country.
I was deeply moved by the faith of the people of PNG. There were thousands of pilgrims, many simple people who had travelled vast distances to be in the presence of Pope Francis, whom they described as a holy man. Some pilgrims walked for two weeks from the mountainous highlands to attend the Pope’s visit; others travelled for some days by rough seas. Like people everywhere, these people of God were attracted by Pope Francis’ witness to our loving God drawing close to people, especially those on the peripheries.
During Pope Francis’ gathering with Religious and Catechists, he spoke of the missionary zeal of the pioneer Religious who came to PNG, women and men whose deep trust, generosity and absolute reliance on God responded wholehearted to an journey unknown. Pope Francis said: “Missionaries arrived in this country at the middle of the 19th century, and the first steps of their ministry were not easy. Indeed, some attempts failed. However, they did not give up.” Friends, many of these men and women belong to our own Congregations, and their enthusiasm for mission and hearts on fire with the love of God, attracted others to join them, including all of us.
Pope Francis reminded us that it is the very same spirit of Jesus that draws us on today! He also acknowledged that consecrated life is a prophetic witness to the calling of God and encouraged us to be women and men of ‘'compassion, care and tenderness”.
Approximately 35,000 gathered to celebrate the mass held at Sir John Guise stadium, In his homily Pope Francis stressed the nearness of God. The mass, with its traditional dancing and angelic singing was a faith filled celebration of life and joy.
It was profoundly moving for me, as a Daughter of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to see Pope Francis pray before the statue of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, which had come from our OLSH convent in Boroko.
As a symbol of the love God has for the poor, marginalised and often excluded, Pope Francis travelled to Vanimo, a small village on the border of PNG and Indonesia, where there is a group of missionary sisters from Argentina, who minister with and to the poor and vulnerable children.
I felt truly blessed by my experiences in Papua New Guinea, and was conscious of the many courageous, loving missionaries who lived and ministered in PNG, many of whom are members of CRA and living in Australia today. To each one of you, I say, Thank You!
Friends, as we stand on the threshold of our Jubilee year, with the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope: On the path of peace,” let us to be attentive to the needs of the world as we answer the call to make God’s love visible everywhere, no exceptions no exclusions.
May we continue to go where there is exclusion and suffering because that’s where God chose to go, to the peripheries, and may our words and our actions, like Pope Francis, say to people everywhere,’ we see you, we love you.’
To see a carousel of photos and video from CRA’s time in PNG during the Pope’s visit, click here.
Sr Philippa Murphy FDNSC
Vice President/Acting President, Catholic Religious Australia.