The Episcopal Ordination of MOST REVEREND Brian Gregory Mascord as the fifth Bishop of Wollongong 7PM • THURSDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2018 Feast of the Chair of St Peter the Apostle FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Why is the ordination of Bishop- elect Brian Mascord at the WIN Entertainment Centre and what will it look like? As this is the first ordination of a bishop in Wollongong for some 22 years the Diocese has anticipated a huge number Where is the ordination, and who is going to be of attendees (up to 4,500) which cannot there? obviously be catered for in the Cathedral. Installations (such as Bishop Peter Bishop-elect Brian Mascord will be ordained at 7:00pm on Ingham’s) and other major diocesan Thursday 22 February 2018 at the WIN Entertainment Centre Masses have been successfully held in the in Wollongong (Cnr of Crown and Harbour Streets). It is WIN Entertainment Centre in the past. What will it look like? anticipated that the ordination will be celebrated by up to Spectacular! The idea is that if we can’t take the people to the 4,500 people including approximately 30 bishops (including Cathedral, we will take the Cathedral to the people. Therefore, the Papal Nuncio in Australia, His Excellency Most Reverend the backdrop for the ordination will be a recreation of the Adolfo Tito Yllana), 100 priests and deacons, parishioners and Cathedral stained glass windows and icons. families from all our parishes and schools, staff and families from all diocesan agencies and affiliated organisations, leaders What is the meaning of other churches and faiths, civic leaders of government and behind the dove stained business, media, and last but not least—bus-loads of Brian’s glass window being used family, friends, parishioners and community members from to promote the ordination the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. of Bishop-elect Brian As Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP (Archbishop of Sydney) is Mascord? the metropolitan of the NSW Province, he will be the principal consecrator. The co-consecrators will be Bishop Peter Ingham Brian’s ordination will take place and Bishop William Wright (Bishop of Newcastle-Maitland). on the Feast of the Chair of St Peter the Apostle which takes place Everyone is warmly invited to attend. Please RSVP through each year on 22 February. The image being used to promote the your parish, school or community by 1 February. ordination is Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s “Dove of the Holy Spirit” continued which is an alabaster stained glass window that sits above the Brian is currently designing his coat of arms with the assistance of Chair of St Peter in St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican. The Chair heraldic expert, Mr Richard d’Apice AM. The coat of arms will be of St Peter is the central work of art in the apse of St Peter’s made public during the ordination ceremony after Brian is ordained. Basilica. Designed by Bernini and finished in 1666, this chair is made of bronze and encases the original Chair of St Peter, Where is Bishop-elect Brian Mascord from? which is made of wood and ivory. The throne takes up the Brian was born in Newcastle, NSW, on 30 January 1959. After whole space in the front of the basilica and is centered around achieving a Diploma of Teaching at the Catholic College of the stained glass window. At the center of this window is a white Education in Castle Hill, he continued his studies at St Patrick’s dove which symbolizes the Holy Spirit, hence the title “Dove of College in Manly (1986–1990), where he obtained a Bachelor the Holy Spirit”. The time period in which it was constructed, its of Theology. He was ordained a priest on 31 October 1992 in oval shape, and the manipulation of light identify the window as Sacred Heart Church in Hamilton by Bishop Leo E. Clarke, and Baroque. was incardinated in the Diocese of Maitland (later Maitland- The dove, from wing tip to wing tip, is six feet wide, which puts Newcastle). From 1993 to 1996, he worked as an assistant into perspective the colossal size of the whole sculpture. The priest and administrator in the parishes of Taree, Hamilton and light rays shift from brighter to darker as they move away from Stockton. He served as parish priest to the following parishes: the dove, thus illustrating God the Holy Spirit as the source of Cardiff (1997–2002); East Maitland and Morpeth (2002–2005); light. The brightness alternates between light and dark with each Maitland, Lochinvar and Rutherford (2005–2007). Since 2007, he has been the vocations director. Moreover, he has been working division between the amber light rays around the dove, thereby as administrator for the parishes of Nelson Bay (2008–2012), as accentuating each individual beam of light without bringing well as Mayfield and Mayfield West (2014–2016). He has been a too much attention to any single one. The light rays are further long-standing member of the Council of Priests (2006–present) and accentuated by their continuation within the bronze sculpture; he is currently a member of the diocesan Clergy Life and Ministry around the window is a plethora of angels on clouds, but beyond Team (2013–present) and of the National Council for Clergy Life the angles, the light rays of the window continue in bronze form. and Ministry (2015–present). Since 2012, Brian has been the vicar From this we can tell that Bernini designed the sculpture and general of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. the window as a single, unified work. Interestingly, this stained glass window is not actually made of glass, but rather alabaster, Will we hear from Bishop-elect Brian Mascord before a naturally translucent stone. The exact time the window was his ordination? completed is uncertain, though most sources place it around Yes. Bishop Peter Ingham has asked Brian to deliver the annual 1660. Lenten video message for 2018 as a way of introducing him to the What if I can’t make the ordination? Will it be live people of the Diocese before his ordination. The video message will be played in parishes and released online on the 6th Sunday in streamed? Ordinary Time (Sunday 11 February 2018). Yes! The ordination will be streamed live globally enabling those who cannot attend to watch the celebrations. The link to the live What is the role of a bishop in the Catholic Church? stream will be published closer to the ordination date. Bishops are successors of the apostles and, in their own dioceses, they are the chief teachers, sanctifiers and shepherds of God’s What is a bishop’s coat of arms and motto and when people. “Each bishop works in his particular diocese in a priestly, will Bishop-elect Brian Mascord’s be made public? shepherding and teaching role. He possesses the fullness of the priesthood and so is the principal celebrant of the Sacraments, Ecclesiastical heraldry refers to the use of heraldry within the especially the Eucharist, by which the Church grows in holiness and Church for dioceses and clergy. Initially used to mark documents, union with Christ. He is also the chief shepherd of the diocese and ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people so is responsible for compassionate and loving governance of the and dioceses. In the Catholic Church, most bishops, including the people entrusted to him. And he is the chief teacher of his diocese, Pope, have a personal coat of arms and motto. responsible for authentic proclamation of the Gospel” Ecclesiastical heraldry differs notably from other heraldry in (US Catechism for Adults, 133). the use of special insignia around the shield to indicate rank in Beyond his own diocese, a bishop has a role in the universal the Church. The most prominent of these insignia is the low Church. Ordination integrates him into the College of Bishops in crowned, wide brimmed ecclesiastical hat, commonly the Roman communion with the Pope. He exercises his ministry collegially galero. The color and ornamentation of this hat indicate rank. and shares with the Pope and the other bishops care for the whole Cardinals are famous for the “red hat”, but bishops are usually Church. the green hat. In the Catholic Church, unless a new bishop has a family coat of arms, he typically adopts within his shield symbols This follows the example of the apostles who were chosen and sent that indicate his interests or past service. The display of a cross out together by Christ. Just as St Peter and the other apostles formed behind the shield is restricted to bishops as a mark of their dignity. a single apostolic college, so the bishops, successors of the apostles A motto is a short phrase usually appearing below the shield as a united with Peter’s successor, the Pope, form one episcopal college statement of belief. to shepherd and teach the Church today. Bishops do not act in the name of the Pope, but exercise their There are currently 44 priests (both diocesan and religious ministry “personally in the name of Christ”. “Bishops should order priests) working in 31 parishes in the Diocese, with an not be thought of as vicars of the Pope,” although they exercise additional 35+ priests that are either retired, in a religious their authority, “In communion with the whole Church under order, working as a supply priest, or serving in a culturally and the guidance of the Pope.” The Pope’s authority does not linguistically diverse community or another chaplaincy. conflict with that of bishops, but defends and confirms their authority.