The Good Shepherd Chapel in Abbotsford, Melbourne reopened this month following two years of restoration works, reports Catholic Religious Australia. The Chapel was designed by architect Thomas Kelly, modelled on that of the mother house of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Angers, France.
The chapel, which is the cornerstone of the Abbotsford Convent, will open to the public late this month for regular morning Mass and other celebrations.
Officially opened in 1871, the Chapel was, and remains, the cultural and spiritual centre for the Good Shepherd Sisters.
Good Shepherd Province Leader Sister Anne Manning said she was delighted that the Chapel had been restored and would be available for use by the community.
“For most of the 150 years of Good Shepherd presence in Abbotsford, the Good Shepherd Chapel has been a spiritual centre: a sacred place of communion with God and, in that communion, of union with all people,” Anne said.
“The Chapel offered silence for reflection in the midst of a busy day and the possibility of recouping strength and energy to return to that busyness and all the concerns of life,” she said.
Now, after a significant investment through Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (an initiative of the Good Shepherd Sisters), the Chapel will be open for Catholic weddings, baptisms and funerals, recitals and other events, as well as remain the place where the Sisters and the community go each day for Mass.