Cath News report: Former Melbourne Archdiocesan vocations director Fr Anthony Denton has been named inaugural Rector of Domus Australia, charged with the mission of turning Australian tourists in Rome into pilgrims, reports The Record.
Fr Denton will begin his post when renovations that started in September 2009 on the facility are due to finish before June next year.
Speaking with The Record in Rome during the week of Mary MacKillop's canonisation, Sydney's Cardinal George Pell, the driving force behind the project, said a central aim of Domus is to enrich Australians' faith by connecting the heart of the Church with their Church back home – links that "have traditionally been very strong".
"I hope it will be an information centre and an Australian cultural centre, and encourage people to move from tourists to pilgrims; to understand the faith that's inspired the story of Catholic Rome; to understand the links that exist between Rome, the home of the Popes, and the very distant Church of Australia," he said.
Fr Denton, 38, who is undergoing additional studies in Rome, said the very fact that he has been appointed as a Rector who celebrates Mass at the chapel and oversees the centre underlines the fact that "it's not a normal hotel, it's a religious centre".
"It will be a challenging job but it's very exciting for Rome; there's great interest in Rome about it, plus it puts us on the map in a way that we've never been before."
Domus Australia (Australia House), located at Via Cernaia, about 10 minutes' walk from Rome's Central train station and within walking distance of the Vatican, will provide pilgrims with up to date information on papal events and general information about the Church as well as including tours of catacombs from the early Christian Church, the Coliseum and other Christian attractions.
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