austraLasia #2152

Four years in the building, Port Moresby Shrine to MHC now on the eve of consecration

PORT MORESBY: 21st May 2008 -- Twenty eight years after the Salesians arrived in Papua New Guinea, and four years after the foundation stone was laid for the new Shrine to Mary Help of Christians in East Boroko, a suburb of Port Moresby, the 24th May will witness the consecration of the capital city's newest church. Port Moresbian Catholics are by now well aware of the gradual emergence of this great centre of devotion to Mary, marked through the years by new developments on major Feast of the Blessed Mother, and publicly supported as a national shrine to Our Lady by the former Archbishop of Port Moresby Brian Barnes OFM and the current Archbishop John Ribat MSC.
    The consecration, which will take place on the 24th May with Cardinal Thomas Williams (Auckland) and Archbishop Ribat as principal celebrants, will also see a gathering of youth. This has been very much the wish of the Archbishop, and it will commence on the 23rd, with all the usual youth activities associated with such gatherings, as well as a prayer vigil leading to the day of consecration.
    The Shrine to Mary Help of Christians, built on the Salesian property which also houses the Don Bosco Technological Institute, is also a reminder of the growth of the Faith in Papua New Guinea-Oceania. Its large windows are adorned with paintings of St. Peter Chanel, the proto-martyr of the 'South Seas', and Blessed John Mazzuconi, Blessed Peter To Rot, both Papua New Guinean martyrs.  Kina shells adorn the walls of the shrine behind the altar. These shells are Melanesian symbols of wealth.
    Other windows represent other holy personages such as Mother Teresa, John Paul II, Mary McKillop, Maria Goretti, Laura Vicuña, Zeferino Namancurá and several other saints and blesseds of the Church and Congregation.  Of course there are St Francis de Sales, St John Bosco, Mary Mazzarello. .  A pictorial catechesis is achieved via representations of the crossing of the Red Sea and a range of Old Testament figures such as Isaac, Abraham, Moses.
    Funding for the church has come largely from outside. There is even a tabernacle in the lower floor Eucharistic chapel donated by Pope Benedict XVI.  The electronically worked bells are a donation from Italy.  The building also houses rooms, offices and even a small dormitory to accommodate pilgrims.
    The 'builder' behind the effort, at least the man who has been its motivating force from the beginning is long-time Salesian missionary (in fact the longest-serving Salesian missionary in PNG and former Delegate) Fr Valeriano Barbero.  He has every right to be satisfied.  The building is now complete after four years of accident-free effort by a small team of workers, and given the generous donations which have arrived from around the world, is virtually paid for at the time of its completion.
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Title: australasia 2152
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces PNG-SI Consecration of Shrine to MHC
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2152