The Superior of St Francis’ Church, Melbourne, Very Reverend Father Ben Ho SSS, has engaged the artist, Sr Susan Daily, Companion of Jesus, to design a new icon featuring a cluster of saints associated with the church. The chief being St Francis of Assisi after whom our church is named and dedicated by its builder, Fr Patrick Geoghegan OFM in 1841 – 1845. The Vatican has declared a Franciscan Jubilee Year for 2026 to mark the 800th anniversary of St Francis’ passing.
Saints specifically connected with St Francis’ Church are St Mary MacKillop, 1841 – 1909, who was baptised in St Francis’ and made her first Reconciliation, Communion and Confirmation in St Francis’ Church and founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph, popularly known as “the Brown Joeys”; and St Peter Julian Eymard, 1811 – 1868, who lived in France and was the founder of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation, which was given custody of St Francis’ Church by Dr Mannix then Archbishop of Melbourne in 1929.
Sr Susan Daily has created a tapestry of icons with focus on St Peter Julian Eymard. This large icon is depicted in the centre of the composition to show its importance.
The right hand side contains a number of vertical panels depicting themes from the life of St. Peter Julian. The top icon is that of Mary, the mother of the Lord. She holds a host and a cup that we may eat and drink the body and blood of her Son. The founder loved to present her as “Our Lady of the Cenacle”. The Southern Cross in the night sky is a reminder that Australia was placed under Mary’s protection by the Australian bishops in 1841. In the next panel are the symbolic figures of St Peter Julian and Sr Margaret Guillot, the superior of the Sisters he had founded, each holding a monstrance. Below is the work of the founder preparing the poor children for first communion in Paris.
On the lefthand side are more scenes from the life of St Peter Julian. The top panel shows Mme Eymard bringing the young Peter Julian to the parish church in the mountainnous region of his birth. The next panel shows the young Peter Julian person praying intensely in adoration before the Eucharist. The lower panel shows a priest and Mass servers, and the next panel shows a priest blessing the people with the monstrance, the rite of ”Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.”
In the centre at the base of the icon is a symbol of the people who come to visit St Francis’ Church. They are parents and teachers, their children and students. They are flanked by texts which repeat the Eucharist is the centre of the Christian life and the command of Jesus, “Do this in memory of me”.
July 1, 2026
Father Jo Dirks, sss
Melbourne, Australia
