Rome, Italy, Oct 20, 2011 / 09:25 am
Pope Benedict XVI officially opened Australia’s first ever pilgrim center in Rome on Oct. 19.
“The Domus Australia will play an important part in creating a home for Australian pilgrims in the city of the Apostles,” the Pope said at a special dedication service.
The Domus Australia – or Australia House - is former Marist Brother’s study center built in the 19th-century. Three years ago it was acquired by the Catholic Church in Australia. It has since been heavily renovated and restored. Only five minutes from the city’s main train station, it now boasts 32 guest rooms, a conference center and chapel.
After making his way across Rome, Pope Benedict was welcomed on Wednesday evening by the center’s rector, Fr. Anthony Denton, and Cardinal George Pell of Sydney.
In his welcome address, Cardinal Pell told the Pope that the twin ambitions of the center were to “encourage more of the 60,000 Australian tourists who come to Rome each year to become pilgrims,” and also to “strengthen the links between the distant Church in Australia and the papacy.”