NEWS:
Nola Diamantopoulos’s mosaic commemorating the life and work of Caroline Chisholm was unveiled by the Governor-General Quentin Bryce and blessed by Archbishop Mark Coleridge on 29 June, 2011. All three are pictured together in the third issue of the Newsletter. The new mosaic was created for and installed on the Northern wall of the Sts Peter and Paul’s Old Cathedral in Goulburn, New South Wales. Constructed with local greenstone, it is a heritage-listed building that is being restored and conserved.

For an unusual image of the Archbishop’s safety-harnessed ascension in a long-armed cherry picker, click here.

The mosaic’s rich imagery, innovative materials and spectacular use of colour and texture delight the eye and give rise to immediate and considered reflection. See for yourself, click here. Descriptive details about the mosaic are in the third issue of the Newsletter.

At the concelebrated Eucharist in the Old Cathedral, prior to the mosaic’s unveiling and blessing, the congregation sang “The Emigrant’s Friend: A Salute to Caroline Chisholm”. Moira Sheridan of Goulburn wrote the lyrics for this new hymn. To read and sing the four verses, click here.

A re-printing of Carole Walker’s biography of Caroline Chisholm, A Saviour of Living Cargoes, is to be released in September, 2011. Published by Connor Court Publishing, it will have 239 pages, an RRP of $29.95 and the ISBN 9781921421945. You can obtain the book from www.connorcourt.com or the usual online and retail outlets. This well-received academic biography was reviewed in the second issue of the Newsletter.

F.A.Q's:
Can Mrs Chisholm be called Servant of God?
A reasonable number of Catholics see Servant of God as a restricted term, because it is an honorific accorded deceased individuals whose lives are being officially investigated for evidence of heroic virtue or martyrdom and, what’s more, part of a papal title (Servus Servorum Dei – Servant of the Servants of God). This is a narrow view, indeed, and it is also non-scriptural. The Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 3:9, “For we are God’s servants, working together” [NRSV, Catholic edition, 1993]. He was referring to those working to make Christ known and to help realize the kingdom of God on earth. In the scriptures, particularly the psalms, there are numerous references to Servants of the Lord or, depending on the translation, Servants of God, none of whom come within the current narrow view of the term. Besides, Caroline Chisholm, a tireless worker for the kingdom, acknowledged her work was given her “by One who never allows his servants to stand still for want of materials”.
[ Quotation sourced from: www.sydney.catholic.org.au/Archdiocese/History/Chisholm.shtml – the website of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, where much of her wonderful work was centered.]

Why mrschisholm.com? Isn’t that a little sexist?
The practical answer is: the main Caroline Chisholm domain names were taken before early 2007, when our website was being planned. Anyway, “Mrs Chisholm” is how she was called during her public life and use of “Mrs” implicitly acknowledges her marriage to Archibald, a most supportive, loving spouse and co-worker.

The emigrant’s friend? Shouldn’t that be, the immigrant’s friend?
Good point. During and after her lifetime, Caroline Chisholm was known across the world as “the emigrant’s friend”. We’re continuing that historic use, which is that an emigrant is a person leaving their country of origin to settle in another. That person became known as an immigrant upon their arrival in the new country. The word immigrant now covers both meanings in everyday English. Historically, too, the title describing Mrs Chisholm’s solicitude and care for those migrating – most of whom were escaping poverty and, at times, famine – was invariably in the singular form. This was apt, as her charitable attention focused on the person, not on anonymous groups of humanity.