For the second year running, churches across the Archdiocese of Melbourne will open their doors for a weekend of prayer from Friday 31 May to Sunday 2 June. Dubbed Fiat—inspired by Mary’s ‘yes’ to the Lord—the weekend coincides with the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi).
The weekend is an opportunity for local communities to unite in prayer during this Year of Prayer in preparation for the Jubilee Year 2025.
St Augustine’s to host Fiat opening event
Fiat opens on Friday night at St Augustine’s Church on Bourke Street, with different youth groups and communities leading prayer at various times during the evening. There will also be live music, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and various priests present to offer the sacrament of Reconciliation.
There will also be an element of outreach, with parishioners inviting those visiting the city area to ‘come and see’. The evening is based on an international initiative called Nightfever, which was started by a group of young people following World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne, Germany.
Nightfever has since taken place in more than 80 cities around the world, providing an opportunity to invite people to encounter God’s love and mercy in prayer, even welcoming in passers-by who may be far from the faith.
We seek to walk with Christ, praying for peace, expressing gratitude and lifting up our community in prayer.
Parishes around Melbourne are invited to host similar prayer opportunities for locals to participate in. Last year’s Fiat included parishes offering 24 hours of adoration, Stations of the Cross, morning Masses, and talks hosted by various members of each parish.
Weekend to conclude with Eucharistic procession
This year, Fiat will conclude with the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) on 2 June, and to mark the occasion, Corpus Christi College, the regional seminary for Victoria and Tasmania, has partnered with St Patrick’s Cathedral to offer an afternoon of prayer and a Eucharistic procession from Carlton to East Melbourne.
The day will commence at 1pm with Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Carlton, followed by a Eucharistic procession to the Cathedral (from 2.30pm). Upon arrival at the Cathedral, Solemn Vespers and Benediction will be offered.
Mgr Stuart Hall, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, said the event and procession will serve as ‘a public witness of reverence for the Most Holy Sacrament’.
The event also echoes the words of Pope St John Paul II, who in his encyclical letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, described the participation of the faithful in a Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi as ‘a grace from the Lord’ (§10).
‘We seek to walk with Christ,’ said Msgr Hall, ‘praying for peace, expressing gratitude and lifting up our community in prayer.’
Click here for more information about Fiat and prayer ideas for parishes, and to register your community’s activities.
