Migrant Cross pilgrimage arrives in Adelaide this month
News
A symbolic cross that has travelled around much of Australia over for almost a year is set to arrive in Adelaide later this month where it will be celebrated by Archbishop Patrick O’Regan at a special Mass.
The pilgrimage of the migrant jubilee cross Australia 2025 is a national initiative of the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission for Evangelisation and will have been hosted in about 28 dioceses and eparchies across Australia by the end of October when the pilgrimage concludes. The journey gives the Church the chance to mark the jubilee of migrants and to acknowledge the faith, gifts, contributions and resilience of migrant communities.
The cross – which has been created from Australian timber and rests upon a boat shaped base – will arrive in Adelaide, from Port Pirie on 23 September, with St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral on Wakefield St, the first port of call.
This design of the cross is intended to speak directly to the migrant and refugee experience, recalling journeys across land and sea, and the longing for welcome, security and a place to call home. The boat, meanwhile, evokes the Church as the Barque of Peter, called to be a safe harbour and companion for all people, especially those who are vulnerable or displaced.
During its time in Adelaide, it is expected to visit Adelaide Cathedral, St Gabriel’s primary school, Mary MacKillop College and the Vietnamese Catholic community, before departing for Darwin on Monday 28 September.
The cross is also a travelling reliquary. Embedded within it are relics of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph — fragments associated with the Holy Crib, the veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the cloak of Saint Joseph, on loan from the Order of the Discalced Augustinians. These relics are particularly meaningful in the context of migration, as the Holy Family themselves experienced displacement and flight into Egypt.
The cross also contains a relic from the 1914 original cedar coffin of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, gifted by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Saint Mary MacKillop’s witness of courage, compassion and practical hospitality, especially towards the poor and excluded, anchors the pilgrimage in the Australian Church’s call to welcome with open hearts.
High on the bill of the Adelaide visit will be a Mass, to be celebrated by Archbishop Patrick O’Regan from 1.30pm on Sunday 27 September, at Our Lady of the Boat People Church in Pooraka.
The cross will be a central part of the Mass and serves as a powerful symbol of hope, pilgrimage and gratitude, and recognises the rich contribution of migrants to the life of the Church and the wider Australian community.
Mass will be followed by a procession of the Migrant Jubilee cross, celebrations and fellowship.
Pope Leo XIV has called upon everyone to recognise Christ in every migrant and refugee child, protecting their dignity, rights and wellbeing through compassionate welcome, solidarity and shared responsibility. The Theme this year is: Even Just One of These Children (cf. Mt 18:10).
