Mary Ward 400 Celebrations in Baucau, Timor-Leste

August 2009

Dear Friends,

During the last week of July we joined with all Mary Ward women around the world and celebrated our founding four hundred years ago. We held a week of celebration beginning on Monday morning at staff meeting/prayer, with a brief outline of Mary Ward and her goals for religious women. This was followed by prayer which focused on the main values of Mary Ward and picked up the issues raised in the introduction. During Anne Byrne’s time in Baucau she wrote Mary Ward’s story in Tetun which Rob illustrated. We gave a copy of this pamphlet to each one. After the prayer we explained the idea of a message stick and showed them the beautifully crafted backpack and its contents and made some suggestions about the Baucau contribution to the messages. All staff were invited to the teaching staff offices on the Wednesday afternoon for a party and for writing of messages.
For the party we made a cake and the mother of one staff member made traditional food for all to share – sufficient for three times our number. It was a positive, happy sharing of ideas as different members committed their thoughts to paper. Our newest member of staff, a creative man, designed the symbol for the silk – a map of East Timor in the national colours combining the idea of Loreto and the college both new in ET working in collaboration with this new nation. The messages were written in either English or Tetun according to their preference.
It was a joyful occasion and many staff were interested to learn more about Mary Ward and in particular to learn more about Loreto sisters. For example one staff member came to appreciate why we do not wear a habit when their experience is that sister usually were a habit. Others were surprised to learn about the struggle of Mary Ward within the church and that one woman could achieve so much in a lifetime. The staff were most encouraging of our presence here. So now the backpack has gone on to Anne in Dili before it flies back to Brisbane with the ACU lecturer from Banyo who has been here in Baucau working with our teaching staff.

Diaan and Natalie

Baucau

The Mary Ward Backpack has continued its journey by various ways and means; on foot, by post and even through the air. From Broome, it travelled to Sr. Helen Parer in Alice Springs before being taken to Sr. Jan Niall in Darwin.

Sr. Diaan Stuart picked the backpack up in Darwin and brought it back with her to Baucau, Timor Leste, where she currently lives and works. From Baucau, the Backpack will travel to the country's capital Dili, before returning to Australia - first stop Brisbane.

To read more about Loreto in Timor Leste, visit http://loreto.org.au/works/mary_ward_int.html.

Stay tuned for photos and stories of the latest adventures of the Mary Ward Backpack!

Backpack in Broome, WA

Map of the Backpack's journey

The Mary Ward backpack has traversed the red sands of WA to arrive in Broome on June 11 2009. These pictures show Sr. Anna Gaha and Children of St Mary's College, Broome with the Mary Ward Bbackpack and journal.

Use the map to track the journey of the backpack through Australia.

Follow this link to check out the media coverage of Broome and other backpack news.
http://www.loreto.org.au/news/article_display.cfm?article_id=319

Backpack travels west to Adelaide

Loreto Marraytville hosted the backpack in Adelaide for the last 2 weeks of last term in April. Whilst here, they organised a welcome liturgy with the Head Girl of the school, Georgia Brown dressed in period costume as Mary Ward walking into the hall carrying the backpack. Written into the liturgy was a reflection which she read as “Mary Ward” to the assembly of staff and students. She then presented the backpack to Sr Verna who received it on behalf of the Loreto Marryatville Community.


A number of pages in the journal were allocated to each of the subschools: Primary, Middle and Senior years to allow students to contribute to the journal. Staff across the school also contributed journal reflections as did the ibvm sisters in the community and the College Council.

The School's Deputy Principal Rosalie said, "It was a real privilege to have the backpack and the college community certainly was abuzz with interest and enthusiastically contributed to the journal."

Backpack arrives at Portland, VIC

The backpack arrived in Portland on March 21st via Hamilton, Victoria. A dinner was held to welcome the bearers of the Backpack, at which the Backpack was the centrepiece.

The Backpack was then displayed at Sunday Mass. Sr. Chris Burke spoke. The community were invited after Mass to write in the journal. Many ex-Loreto students did so, as did the Bishop and the parish priest.

The Backpack was then in Bayview Secondary College and the Principal and teacher-ex-student wrote in the journal. At the Thursday School Assembly, the Backpack was ceremoniously passed over to Sr. Mary Murray to take to Adelaide.

TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELLED SO FAR 930km

The backpack will travel 553km from Ballarat to Portland, Victoria from 21-27 March and will pass through Hamilton where there was a Loreto school early last century.

The backpack travelled 112km from Melbourne to Ballarat where it stayed from 10-20 March 2009.

Backpack at Loreto Toorak, 5 March 2009

The arrival of the Mary Ward backpack video

A back-pack view of Loreto history

Mary Ward was a ground-breaking woman from 16th century England, whose pioneering spirit impelled her to pursue a faith filled education for young women, while engaging in a new way of religious life free of enclosure. She was a journeywoman!

Across the English channel, over the Italian Alps, by coach, by boat, on foot she traveled, a pilgrim figure in hat and coat, of slim resources and comforts. An intrepid woman and daring innovator, her deep spirituality and intimacy with God enabled her to remain faithful to her dream even in the face of persistent opposition.

Travel was perilous and not an easy thing for a woman of her times. Mary’s commitment and fortitude have inspired a long line of women from far away lands to follow the gospel as she did, to bring her charism to Australia. Her values of deep joy, true inner freedom, integrity, a strong sense of justice, are those we still carry with us on the journey. Others have linked in with us on the way. Together we carry out her dream.

This back-pack captures something of our unfurling history. As a symbol of the journey it winds its way in Olympic fashion to places that are representative of the Loreto story in Australia. It will capture the story of what has been done, what we are doing today, and what we will do together in the future. Within it are the pages that we wish you to write on today, reflecting on what it means to be part of this circle of friends for today’s times. The backpack also contains a piece of silk on which we invite you to paint or draw a symbol of how Mary Ward’s spirit lives on in your community.

In welcoming the arrival of the backpack you are remembering and giving thanks for the
courage of Mary Ward 400 years ago, and for the unfolding story of her Institute in many parts of Australia.

And so today we are challenged to keep her story alive as we try to live out the ideals to which she aspired; we are challenged to engage with the injustices of the world, to seek to make a difference, and to do all with great generosity of spirit and joy.

Hers was a journey of ups and downs, a story of the overcoming of hardship with a faith that was immoveable, a hope that was invincible, and a love that never ended.

We can do no less!