Sr Elizabeth Young, Wilcannia News
Our town was picked! This year, Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has called a ‘Jubilee’, which is an ancient practice every 50 or 25 years.
The idea was a year of rest and celebration, to rebuild relationships with God, other people, the land and animals. It included forgiving debts, returning slaves and not cultivating paddocks for a year.
Today it is also a time for pilgrimage, which is when people make a journey with an intention – for example to pray or discover something about themselves or life.
This is an opportunity for ‘grace’ (an unearned gift from God), which is why pilgrimage experiences can be so special. In this part of the Catholic world, Wilcannia (the whole town) has been chosen by Bishop Columba as a place of pilgrimage, along with Broken Hill Cathedral, Forbes and the Brewarrina Fish Traps.
So we may get pilgrims coming through and experiencing something of Wilcannia’s unique spirit. They are encouraged to pray, visit the Baaka river and cultural/historical sites. I know they, and any visitors, will continue to receive our traditional warm welcome!
This article appeared in Wilcannia News, February 2025.