Bicentennial Celebration of the Birth of Fr Jules Chevalier at St Thomas Blackburn Parish

AUSTRALIA. The Chevalier family in Melbourne, including the MSCs, the MSC sisters, the OLSH sisters and the Chevalier laity, gathered on this day at St Thomas’ Church in Blackburn for a Eucharistic celebration, presided by Fr Mark Hanns msc. Lee Toll, an associate with the Daughters of our Lady of the Sacred Heart, who had been to the 4th International Assembly of the Laity of the Chevalier Family in Cebu, the Philippines, last January, gave a presentation and reflection on Jules Chevalier and his life, and her experience in this Assembly. One of the aspects she presented was the ‘open-hearted Jesus’ that Jules discovered, upon which his vision and charism were founded. Today, this image of an open-hearted Jesus calls us, even demands us, to take great care of our common home, our earth planet, through our concrete actions and daily life activities. After the Eucharist, we all shared morning tea and cut the birthday cake for Jules. We tried our best but couldn’t find enough 200 candles! Some parishioners who attended the mass expressed their appreciation for learning more about Jules Chevalier, his vision and mission, and more of the works that the Chevalier did and continues to do at this time in history.

Grace Noviana