How to Enthrone an Archbishop

Well here in sunny Brisvegas many (not all) of the Catholic population turned up for one of those religious spectaculars,the enthronement of a new Archbishop. The last show was in 1989 with John Alexis Bathersby. These ceremonies are a cross between the Melbourne Cup and the Grand Final with better dress codes and lots more music.

According to the web site of the Archdiocese of Brisbane our new man on the chair, Mark Coleridge was "installed" rather then enthroned.

I must admit to being a bit peeved at not receiving an invite to join the  festivities. It seems that due to physical constraints af the cathedral  priority seating will be offered to church leaders, civic dignitaries, Archbishop Coleridge’s family and friends, clergy, religious, parish and school representatives. I wonder why those of us who have online relationships with the Archdiocese are not included. My last google search for  "Tony Robertson Archdiocese of Brisbane" loaded 362,00 results!! The images results from this search are even more fascinating. You would expect so much cyber commitment would be acknowledged by the new media savvy Archbishop. (Check out his material on a youtube search here)

While you are watching the webcast keep your eyes peeled as the Aussie Bishops parade pass the camera to check if invites were sent to  Bishop Bill Morris and Bishop Geoff Robinson. It's quite a long viewing so you need to pack a picnic lunch if you plan to watch it all in one sitting. The quality is very poor on large screen however I expect the DVD that will soon be available will allow for more "celeb" spotting both on and off the sanctuary.

The dignitaries had front row seats and the usual suspects from Government House to Parliament House sat across the aisle from the Church and Faith representatives. Conspicuous by his absence was Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor of Brisbane who seems to be occupied with the Tent Embassy at Musgrave Park these days. One of the "quirky" elements of the Liturgy was the use of the Roman Canon. During this prayer the intercession of the saints concludes with Anastasia, which by coincidence happens to be the name of the Honorable Leader of the Opposition in the Queensland Parliament , Annastacia PalaszczukI do hope the poor Premier of Queensland did not feel left out by the absence of St Campbell!!!


Meanwhile over in "Secularland" the first  popular report of the installation betrays the garish lack of literacy among the new breed of journalists. Writing in the Brisbane Times Amy Remeikis manages to laicize both Mark Coleridge and John Bathersby. Now this may seem a moot point to the Dawkinites however it is also sloppy journalism not to know the correct titles of ecclesiastical leaders. I was  flummoxed to read that Amy has a previous life as a "Native Speaking English Teacher".

The Archbishop Emeritus was popularly known by his personal acronym ABJB which had a  nice youthy ring to it when chanted by large groups of WYD acronym practitioners. The new man in town lends himself to be tagged like our beloved 'aunty" ABC or perhaps he will adopt the ABMC which makes him sound like the compere of Archdiocesan events. Given his middle name of Mark Benedict Coleridge he could go around town as ABMBC which may be a bit of a mouthful for some proclaimers Of course  the "inbetween" Apostolic Administrator wasn't really around for long enough to collect any followers in the Archdiocese  although I imagine he will get a listing in some of the historical chronologies of the See.

As well as the  webcast  of the installation you can see our new Archbishop in Liturgical Movement here back in 2008. I wonder if he will bring some of this classy code to Brisbane?


An Online Limerick for a Bishop



We have an Archbishop called Mark
Who wants to give the Church spark
Wide is his girth
And jolly his mirth
But who listens when he says: "Hark"?

Comments