Mary MacKillop 9

Sunday 3rd April 2022.

Mass:  St Aloysius Church, Sevenhill. 

Sevenhill Centre of Ignation Spirituality, Clare Valley.

This is the birthplace of the Jesuits in Australia, offering a unique space for prayer and contemplation.  In 1850, Fr Aloysius Kranewitter purchased the land and named it Sevenhill after the famous "seven hills" of Rome.   The Jesuits of Sevenhill planted vines, built a church and opened a college, which became the first Catholic boys' school in the colony and also served as a seminary, attended by Mary MacKillop's spiritual mentor Fr Julian Tennyson Woods. 

In 1871, Mary stayed on the property and visited the college where her brothers Donald and Peter were students.  In time Donald became a Jesuit and served as Superior of the Daly River Mission. 

Sevenhill Cellars was first set up by the Jesuits in 1851 to produce sacramental wine.  Sevenhill is also highly regarded for its premium table wines.

St Aloysius Church, Sevenhill.

A magnificent example of Gothic Revival architecture, this historic church is set among the vines and gardens of Sevenhill Cellars. Built from local stone, it features a slate roof, Mintaro slate floors, exquisite stained-glass windows and a painting of the Madonna presented to the Jesuits by King Ludwig of Bavaria in 1848. We were given an interesting talk on the history and work of the Jesuit centre, and then celebrated Mass here.

                                                                 St Aloysius crypt.

The crypt, the only one of its kind in a parish church in Australia, is the final resting place for 41 Jesuits and, since 1901, only those who died at Sevenhill have been buried there.  There are only a couple of spots left!

Back at Lyndoch Hill, we were treated to a spectacular high tea.

"To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history.  To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves, in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe."

(Pope Benedict XVI, Nov 2010, from Day 10's handout.)