Year in Review 2020 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst 27 Ezekiel Hangan Ezekiel became a Sandhurst seminarian in the middle of 2020. He has a close association with the town of Bright, where he spent many childhood holidays with his grandparents. Ezekil spent the year residing in a combination of places: with his parents, in Bendigo at St Kilian’s Parish and some time back at the seminary. He was also able to make several visits to Bright, where members of his family still live. Seminarians SEMINARIANS Dominic Manatad Dominic spent much of the year supported in the north-east of the diocese, residing in Wodonga Parish with Fr Junjun Amaya, Fr Shibu Pezhumthottathil and the wider parish community. This involved travelling beyond Wodonga to places such as the Kiewa Valley, Tallangatta, and Corryong. Dominic is a passionate member of the Seminary Schola, which he says provides a wonderful means to “express my love to the Lord through singing at Mass.” Adonis Peña “In 2020 I often reflected on the suffering of many people in different communities around the world. For so many people, the suffering caused by the global pandemic is still to be resolved. 2020 was a strange year, but also a fruitful and beautiful year, which offered times of solitude and prayer, of peace and consolation; that I may worry less but still be sensitive to the needs of others. I spent time gardening, planting, and pruning in St Kilian’s Presbytery grounds where I resided. I found this time to be therapeutic: it filled me with awe and wonder at God’s goodness and creation. It helped me to remain positive. 2020 encouraged me to see God’s presence and to appreciate it in a deeper way. I think that life becomes grace-filled when we realise that God’s love is abiding.” Jackson Saunders “I look back on 2020 with gratitude and wonder at how the year unfolded. The year began in Rome where I thought I would remain for at least another three years. However, due to COVID-19, I decided to return home to Australia. I arrived in Bendigo on March 21 and entered two weeks’ of isolation in a secluded part of St Kilian’s Presbytery. I completed my quarantine in time to participate in the live-streamed Holy Week and Easter Masses. It was a strange experience to be in the Church with no parishioners. Soon after Easter, I moved to Wangaratta where I assisted in the parish for ten weeks and completed the academic year and university assessments from Rome via correspondence. Midlast year I discerned in consultation with Bishop Shane and others that I felt that God was calling me to complete my seminary formation in Australia. In late November I moved to Echuca Parish to begin a new parish pastoral placement. The experiences of 2020 affirmed my calling to the priesthood and were full of joyful occasions, albeit under challenging circumstances at times.” third Year Third Year Sixth Year Third Year
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