Our
Works
UNIVERSITY CHAPLAINCY
Our friars have long provided chaplaincy services at the great universities throughout the province. The chaplaincy at Monash University in the city of Melbourne is the senior of the province, serving thousands of Catholic students and staff on campus. Though the ministerial presence at any one institution changes, the commitment to building and sustaining the Christian life of those in academia is the same.
PARISH MINISTRY
In this part of the world, our priories have often been founded together with a parish. Our first foundation was made in South Australia in 1898, when we were entrusted with St Laurence’s Parish, North Adelaide. These parishes have become an integral part of the preaching, providing opportunities within and from which we engage with others.
MISSIONS
Every province of the Order is missional, and some carry out preaching in areas where the Gospel is being heard for the first time. Some seventy years ago, our friars and sisters went to the Solomon Islands, and later to Papua New Guinea, to contribute to the founding of the Church. Today, that ecclesial infrastructure serves a young and growing Catholic community.
CONFRATERNITIES
The Angelic Warfare Confraternity is a spiritual association of Christ’s faithful for the pursuit and promotion of the virtue of chastity. Its members are enrolled to receive assistance from God in the chaste life through the prayers of heavenly saints and earthly pilgrims. These prayers help the members of the Confraternity in the spiritual warfare they undertake while seeking to grow in the virtue of chastity. The Confraternity counts the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Thomas Aquinas as its principal patrons.
The Confraternity is an apostolate of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), and is directed by the friars of the Order. It has existed in various forms from the fifteenth century, and was officially established in 1727 by Pope Benedict XIII, who placed it under the care of the Master of the Order.
What is involved?
There are three essential practices for those who seek membership of the Confraternity:
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Enrolment and registration by a Dominican priest (or any priest delegated by the Dominican promoter of the Confraternity).
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Wearing either the blessed knotted cord or blessed medal of St Thomas.
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Daily prayers for purity for oneself and the other members of the Confraternity.
What is “angelic” about the Confraternity?
The Angelic Warfare Confraternity arose from devotion to St Thomas Aquinas. According to testimonies at his canonisation, he was aided in the virtue of chastity by two angels who tied a cord around his waist, saying, “On God’s behalf we gird you with the girdle of chastity, a girdle which no attack will ever destroy.” The cord itself (now located in a Dominican church in Chieri, Italy) has become a revered relic, which many visit to venerate and to pray for the grace of purity.
Who can join?
Membership is open to all people who are ready to seek healing and growth in chastity in their own lives and to foster the virtue in all circumstances.
How do I enrol?
For more information and to receive a membership pack, contact the promoter of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity for the Province of the Assumption, Fr James Baxter by completing the form below.
Please note that we are unable to accept applications from outside the Province of the Assumption (Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands).
INTELLECTUAL APOSTOLATE
Friars take up the rich Dominican tradition of the intellectual life as a service to the Church. In this part of the world, friars are faculty members of Catholic universities and theological colleges. Today, there is also the newly-established Melbourne Thomistic Institute, which serves our student brothers in initial formation as well as people from all parts of the city.