Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – Ben Hur: The Stadium Spectacular, a massive production of the classical story, will be playing in Sydney this October, with a fundraiser to be held each of the two nights of the show for the construction of the Mary MacKillop College in southern Sudan. The production, on October 22 and 23, will turn the ANZ stadium into a huge Roman amphitheatre with hundreds of actors, a Roman galley slave ship with 100 oarsmen, and a chariot race with 32 horses, said a report in The Catholic Weekly. The performance is based on Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ and will be directed by Frenchman Robert Hossein, known for a 1983-84 Guinness Book of Records entry when 700,000 people attended his show A Man Named Jesus. Fundraising for Mary Mac Killop College will be conducted on both nights of the performance. The construction of the school is being overseen by the organization South Sudan Educates Girls (SSEG). The educational institution is dedicated to Sister Mary MacKillop (1842-1909), who will be canonized on October 17 in the Vatican, and will be the first Australian saint. Sister Mary dedicated her life to give a Christian education to poor children. The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, which she founded, is present in Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Brazil, Thailand, and Uganda. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on January 19, 1995 in Sydney. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 10/7/2010)
