PAPAL NUNCIO CELEBRATES PENAFRANCIA FIESTA AT PENRITH-AUSTRALIA

By Noe Adan, Australian Devotees of Our Lady of Penafrancia
Penrith-NSW-Australia
September 23, 2017



The Papal Nuncio, His Excellency, Most Rev. Adolfo Tito Yllana, was the main celebrant during the special Marian mass of Our Lady of Penafrancia on Sep 16, at St Nicholas of Myra Church in Penrith.

He was joined by other priests from the Diocese of Parramatta, namely: Fr. Mathew Antony, Fr. Ruben Elago, Fr. Joe Manjaly, Fr. Dado Haber, Fr. John Paul Escarlan, and a visiting priest, Fr. Vladimir Echalas, assisted by Deacon Jun Decena and Senior Server Remy Wood, altar servers and choir from the Filipino Chaplaincy of the diocese of Parramatta  and Himig Sandiwa Chorale which sang the Ave Maria. .

After the concelebrated mass, the image of the Virgin Mary was brought to the shores of the Nepean River for the fluvial procession.

This year’s feast day had its theme: “Mary: mother of the Church, the communion of Life, Love and Truth in the year of the Parish‘.  This Marian festival is now on its 12^th year of celebration at Penrith, where our Lady’s image is housed at the local St Nicholas church. 

Prior to the Australian feast day, the Papal Nuncio was in Naga City, Philippines, where he led the biggest religious festival event in the country, starting with the traslacion, a procession transferring the image of Mother Mary from her “home”, the Penafrancia Basilica, to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral for nine days of novena and prayers, after which her image is returned back to the Basilica via a fluvial procession.

Before the conclusion of the mass, the CEO of Catholic Cemeteries and Crematoria, Peter O’Meara, was presented with a plaque of appreciation from the Australian Devotees of Our Lady of Penafrancia (ADOLP) for his company’s support to the Penafrancia activities in Sydney.

The afternoon activities, lunch, program and entertainment were held at the Tench Reserve in Jamisontown. Among those who attended were the NSW State MPs, Stuart Ayres, and Tanya Davies.