The official family delegate of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has been chosen for the World Meeting of Families to take place in Ireland in August 2018. The bishops have chosen the Hyland family from the Diocese of Broken Bay in Sydney.
Mum and Dad, Leanne and Shane Hyland, are members of Saint Mary of the Cross Church, Warnervale Parish, and they have three children Joshua (12), Alyssa (8), and Lachlan (5).
In welcoming the news, Bishop Michael Kennedy said the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference Commission was delighted to be able to give an Australian Catholic family the opportunity to travel with their children to Dublin to attend the World Meeting of Families from 21-26 August 2018.
Bishop Kennedy, the Bishops’ Delegate for Marriage and Family, said Leanne and Shane were actively involved in their local parish where they had initiated and run the Family Group Movement.
Leanne is a teacher in the parish school and a member of the parish pastoral council. Shane holds a Bachelor of Theology degree and is studying to be a teacher while also working in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese as a prison chaplain.
Bishop Kennedy said the Bishops’ Conference was pleased to have an official family-delegate at the international gathering of families and he encouraged other families to take part in the Australian pilgrimage to Dublin.
‘It is a wonderful way for Australian families to share their faith overseas as a local community, while at the same time learning and sharing from other like-minded Catholic families from around the world,’ he said.
In response to being chosen, Leanne and Shane said that they were overcome with joy to learn they would be the official family-delegate from Australia at the global faith gathering in Dublin. ‘This will be an amazing opportunity for us and our children to be with other families from around the world who are committed to living a life focused on Jesus Christ.’
‘Our faith is of great importance to us and we are passionate about supporting people on their journey of faith.’
‘When in Ireland we look forward to learning from other families and sharing our experiences back here in our own parish and school, as well as in the wider Catholic community.’
For more on the World Meeting of Families 2018 see www.worldmeeting2018.ie.
ENDS
