Caroline Chisholm’s lay apostolate

In our April webinar, ACI will look at the life of Australian lay apostolate pioneer, Caroline Chisholm, known for her work with immigrant women and on family welfare.

Born in 1808, she arrived in Australia with her husband, Archibald, in 1838. They soon became aware of the difficult conditions that faced newly arrived immigrants, particularly young women who came without any money, friends, or family, or jobs to go to. Many turned to prostitution to survive.

Chisholm found placement for these young women in shelters, such as her own, and helped find them permanent places to stay. She started an organisation with the help of the governess for an immigrant women’s shelter. During the seven years she lived in Australia, she placed over 11,000 people in homes and jobs.

After a spell in England, the Chisholms returned to Australia to live in Victoria, where Caroline continued her work with immigrants, winning praise from the community and the Victorian government. In 1858, the family returned to live in Sydney before retiring to the UK in 1865 where they lived their final years. Caroline and Archibald both died in 1877.

SPEAKERS

Clara Staffa Geoghegan is co-director of the Siena Institute and an executive secretary at the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Rodney Stinson is the author of two books on the life of Caroline Chisholm, “Unfeigned love: Caroline Chisholm and her works,” and “See, Judge, Act: Caroline Chisholm’s Lay Apostolate.”

CLICK BELOW TO REGISTER VIA ZOOM

Caroline Chisholm’s Lay Apostolate, Thursday 21 April 2022, 7pm AEST

READ MORE

Chisholm, Caroline (1808–1877) (Australian Dictionary of Biography)

Caroline Chisholm (Wikipedia)

IMAGE

Public Record Office Victoria / Old Treasury Building

Cardinal Czerny honours ‘enormous contribution’ of Pierre Haubtmann

Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Under-Secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development has sent a message recalling the “enormous contribution” to the the Vatican II Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, Gaudium et Spes, by French priest, Pierre Haubtmann.

“To express my gratitude for Gaudium et Spes and to honour Fr Pierre Haubtmann, let me recall that, 50 years ago, we began reading Gustavo Gutiérrez’s A Theology of Liberation,” Cardinal Czerny wrote.

“We were all immersed in Vatican II, breathing and living Gaudium et Spes. At that time, the roots of A Theology of Liberation in Vatican II were not a question, but an assumption that remained implicit. A Theology of Liberation was simply “planted by the streams of water” (Psalm 1:3) of Vatican II.

“Today, 50 years later, to reread A Theology of Liberation is joyfully to rediscover the then new theology rooted and grounded in Vatican II.

“For this we give thanks to God, with the intercession of Pope St John XXIII and Pope St Paul VI, for Fr Pierre Haubtmann and his enormous contribution to the Church,” Cardinal Czerny concluded.

The ACI webinar to honour Pierre Haubtmann will take place on Monday 6 September, 2021, the 50th anniversary of his death. Our guest speaker will be Mgr Philippe Bordeyne, president of the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Marriage and Family, and Clara Staffa Geoghegan, executive secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Register here via Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqdeutpzwvEtwr9SYLzUtKOA4sWiUtQxbM

To Gaudium et Spes