Pray Tell is pleased to reprint, with permission, the Amen Corner from Worship 99 (January 2025). To subscribe to the journal Worship, visit the link here.
Development of the Missa Terra Spiritus Sancti – Mass of the Land of the Holy Spirit
by Carmel Pilcher
Visionary Missionaries
When Fr. Kevin McKelson (1926–2011), Catholic missionary and Pallottine priest, arrived at the La Grange Aboriginal mission station in the northwest of Australia in 1961 he faced a dilemma. He was conscious that the government of the day required him to “civilize the natives,” while his task as church leader was to “convert” them to the faith. But how could he do either of these without violating the local culture? The people at La Grange were comprised of five tribal groups of Aboriginals, descendants of ancient peoples who had lived for 65,000 years in the remote desert region. Seeking safety, separate groups had made their way to the mission—the last group arriving in 1972.
This was but one of the missions under the care of German Pallottine John Jobst, who, in 1959, was consecrated bishop of the Kimberley region of West Australia, an area covering 773,000 square kilometers. Bishop Jobst grappled with comparable questions to those his missionary colleague was asking. He wondered if the newly baptized Catholic Aboriginals could also continue to live according to their customs and traditions, including engaging in traditional ceremony. Fr. Ernst Worms, local anthropologist and fellow German Pallottine; Dr. H. Petri, professor of anthropology and ethnology at Cologne University; and fellow German and ethnologist, Dr. Micha, each assured the bishop that “Aborigines could adhere to their traditions, mythology, their initiation rites and their law when they accepted the Catholic faith,” provided these were found to be compatible with Christian values[1]
In 1964, while attending the Second Vatican Council, Bishop Jobst had an epiphany moment that he shared with his missionaries back home. He wrote: “. . . we have incorporated into our liturgy . . . next to nothing of the Native’s culture, hence religion presented to them, particularly the liturgy, will always be alien and foreign to them.”[2]He began to rectify this by releasing Fr. Anthony Peile to study the anthropology, ethnology, and sociology of the Aboriginal people living in the Kimberley missions. He also urged all his mission leaders to engage with local Aboriginals to bring into the liturgy their local customs and rituals.
Fr. McKelson was completely in tune with his bishop. When he first arrived at the mission, McKelson spent his evenings sitting with the communities. Gradually over time McKelson became familiar with the five tribal groupings: Garadyari, Nyangumada, Yulbaridya, Dyuwaliny, and Mangala: he learned their languages, observed their customs, and, as he built up trust, those involved invited the pastor to observe their ceremonies.
Only then did he turn his focus to the liturgy. His motivation echoed Sacrosanctum Concilium 14, ensuring that his newly converted Catholics could fully participate in the church’s liturgy. McKelson sat with elders from each of these tribes, including the late Jack Malardy, Tommy Dodds, Bobby Badal, and Sally Liki; and Helen Nakamarra, who now lives in Balgo. Using local languages McKelson communicated the ideas of the Mass of the Roman Rite. “The major obstacle he soon encountered in this process was that much of the phrasing and the terminology the Roman liturgy did not have an equivalent in Australian Aboriginal language and culture” (Introduction, the Missa Terra Spiritus Sancti—Mass of the Land of the Holy Spirit [MLHS]). Together, the pastor and elders took the core concepts of the Roman Rite and articulated the texts using thought patterns and vocabulary in their cultural context. “The translated liturgical texts became songs, with each major part of the structure of the Roman Rite being expressed as a discrete text” (Introduction). This was of necessity an oral exercise, but McKelson, a skilled linguist himself, consulted with other linguists and managed to write the texts in the local language of each of the five tribal groups. As worshipers celebrated the Mass in their languages, changes were made.
Sixty years later, the Missa Terra Spiritus Sancti—Mass of the Land of the Holy Spirit, which had its genesis in La Grange (later Bidyadanga), was presented at the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference. On May 7, 2024, after careful discussion, the bishops officially approved the MLHS for use in the Diocese of Broome. We now continue, here and in the April 2025 issue, the story that led to that historic moment in the Catholic Church in Australia.
The Fortieth International Eucharistic Congress, Melbourne, Australia, 1973
In 1971, preparations for the Fortieth International Eucharistic Congress in Melbourne were well underway. The organizers decided that each of the Masses would focus on a different aspect of Australian society.[3] James Knox, the Archbishop of Melbourne, requested that the organizers include an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mass in the congress itinerary. Anthropologist Fr. Hilton Deacon (later auxiliary bishop of Melbourne) was responsible for the ambitious task of preparing the Aboriginal Mass, and turned to practitioners in the field, in particular Fr. McKelson, for help. The La Grange Mass texts were adapted for the Congress Mass, and because at the time, Aboriginals spoke hundreds of languages, an English translation of the texts was needed.
As is usual, Archbishop Knox sent all the Congress liturgies to Rome for approval, including the Aboriginal Mass. On November 1, 1972, Archbishop Bugnini informed Archbishop Knox that the Holy See had approved the Aboriginal Mass with very few modifications. Papal Legate, Cardinal John Shehan, presided over a large assembly that included hundreds of Aboriginal Catholics who had travelled thousands of miles to the Congress in Melbourne (see Worship, vol. 90, March 2016). Fr. Deacon concluded his introductory remarks before the Mass with the prophetic words, “this is but a beginning.”
Australian Episcopal Conference
The Australian bishops were quick to move forward with the Aboriginal Mass. Bishop Jobst, in collaboration with Fr. McKelson and the La Grange mission, sent an English translation of the Mass in Garadyari, with explanations, to the National Liturgical Commission and the Institute of Pastoral Liturgy Brisbane for their consideration. Upon their recommendations Bishop Thomas P. Cahill, secretary of the Australian Episcopal Conference, sent the La Grange Mass to the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship.
On May 30 of the following year, 1973, Archbishop Thomas Cahill, secretary of the Australian Episcopal Conference, received permission from Cardinal Villot, the secretary of state, for the La Grange Mass to be used in the Diocese of Broome ad experimentum, with a report on the outcome of its use to be reported to the Holy See “after a suitable length of trial.”[4] At their next gathering, the Australian Episcopal Conference determined that “the Introductory Rite, Offertory Rite, Communion Rite and Concluding Rite of the Mass used at the Aboriginal Liturgy of the Melbourne International Eucharistic Congress be approved for use in Australia whenever it would promote the pastoral welfare of Aborigines.” Interestingly they did not assume the use of the eucharistic prayer—even though it had Roman approval for the Congress.
Beyond Australia
Interest in the Aboriginal Mass spread beyond Australia to Europe. In 1975 The National Centre for Pastoral Liturgy (Centre National de Pastorale Liturgique) in Paris printed a small book in French entitled: Eucharisties de tous pays. This collection of eucharistic prayers includes “Pour les aborigènes (Australie).” Both the eucharistic prayer itself and the explanatory notes now have a French translation. While this caused great interest, especially among scholars, back in Australia the initial momentum had slowed. Fr. McKelson embarked on a sabbatical with the view of traveling to various countries to observe and study indigenous adaptations to the Roman Rite. In his writings he mentions visiting communities in Bali in Indoneisa, in Singapore, and in Japan, and a retired Canadian missionary who had collaborated with the Inuit peoples. Always, it seems, he was keen to learn about indigenous language, especially expressions used in the liturgy.
To Rome to Meet with Cardinal Knox
During his journey, and with the blessing of Bishop Jobst, Fr. McKelson continued to correspond with Cardinal James Knox, Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, with the hope of visiting him while in Rome, and providing in person current developments of the Missa. This meeting took place on December 5, 1977. The Cardinal, who had been actively involved in the Congress Aboriginal Mass, welcomed his fellow countryman Kevin McKelson, and both appeared hopeful of an eventual favorable outcome.
Cardinal Knox recommended that a Commission on Aboriginal Liturgy in Western Australia be set up, with the abbot of New Norcia chairing the project. Following that work, the Cardinal informed McKelson that “the material eventually prepared could then be forwarded to the Congregation through the secretariat of the Australian Episcopal Conference, and we should do whatever is possible to be of assistance.”[5] The Cardinal also wrote to Cardinal Clancy, president of the Australian Episcopal Conference, informing him of the situation, the correspondence he had had with Bishop Jobst and Archbishop Goody (Perth), and offering support, as well as reminding the Conference to diligently observe the norms established by the Holy See.
A Case for Inculturation Amongst Australian Aborigines
Next Fr. Kevin McKelson prepared an extensive paper on developments of the Missa Kimberley at Bidyadanga that he entitled: “A Case for Inculturation among Australian Aborigines.” Included were the latest Mass text in English, with comparisons and cultural explanations. On March 28, 1978, McKelson sent copies to Archbishop Goody and Bishop Leo Clarke (Bishops’ Liturgy Committee), and others, including Anscar Chupungco, president of the Pontifical Istituto Liturgico, Rome. Chupungco replied that he was “quite happy with the final draft and I hope that an appropriate official response will come sometime in the near future.” Bishop Clarke went one step further: “A study of the principles in adapting the liturgy for use among Aborigines as outlined in the document makes very interesting reading. I shall bring the submission to the notice of the National Liturgical Commission at the next meeting which is set down for April 18–19.”
The Australian bishops acted quickly. During their May Plenary they agreed unanimously that: “the Holy See be requested to approve, for use in the Diocese of Broome and for a period of five years ad experimentum, these revised and improved Mass texts.” Once again, the Conference requested a further period of experimentation from the Holy See. The secretary sent the letter of request, and copies of the English version of the Mass to Rome on June 29, 1978. However, we can find no record of a response to that request even though Cardinal Knox continued as Prefect of the Office for Worship and the Sacraments for the next two years. One wonders why the bishops asked for further experimentation rather than officially sanctioning the Mass for use in the Broome Diocese. One explanation could be that the bishops felt ill equipped to make this decision. While liturgical consultants offered assurance, most bishops had little experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with few if any in their dioceses. Archbishop Guilford Young, who had such an important role in crafting Sacrosanctum Concilium, made it clear to McKelson that he felt incompetent in this area. At the time it was mistakenly thought that there were no longer Aboriginal people in his Archdiocese of Hobart on the island of Tasmania.
A major difficulty was the fact that at the time—and even to this day—there have been no Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander clergy: no priests have ever been ordained, and only one married deacon, who has since died, was ever ordained. The major impetus for liturgical inculturation came from Bishop Jobst and his Diocese of Broome. It continues to have the largest group of Aboriginal Catholics per population in the church.
After the frenetic activity between Kevin McKelson, Bishop Jobst, the Australian Episcopal Conference, and the Vatican over the previous decade the quest for the approval of the Aboriginal Mass appeared to be at a stalemate. But not as far as Fr. McKelson was concerned! Fr. Kevin McKelson’s extensive archival material is evidence that he continued to refine and develop the Missa Kimberley, with the help of his local mission worshiping assembly in Bidyadanga, until 1993, when the bishop transferred him to Broome. There he continued both his studies and subsequent development of the Missa Kimberley, not just for Bidyadanga, but for other mission communities as well. McKelson also continued to consult regularly with liturgical scholars, local and visiting social scientists, as well as linguists.
Across the nation the “Aboriginal Eucharistic Prayer” has continued to be used by worshiping communities (although not ever officially sanctioned by the Australian bishops). The “Aboriginal Our Father,” although not even approved for use at the Congress, is commonly used in Dioceses across Australia by both indigenous and non-indigenous Catholics, and has been adopted by other Christian churches as well.[6]
In 1996, Bishop Christopher Saunders (who succeeded John Jobst as bishop of Broome) wrote to Fr. Kevin McKelson suggesting that the time had come to formalize the Kimberley Aboriginal Liturgy, both for communio with the Holy See and to enable future missionaries to receive formation in its use and application. He commissioned McKelson to prepare a text in local language with a view that the bishop would forward the English translation to the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference for approval, and then to Rome in “an authentic and convincing manner.”
With this in mind, Kevin McKelson gathered together a group of pastors and practitioners from across the diocese, and together they fulfilled the bishop’s request—presenting him with an English text of the Missa Kimberley the following year. This committee continued to meet to make modifications to the definitive text. Interestingly, in May 2021, Apostolic Nuncio, Bishop Francesco Canalini, visited Balgo in the East Kimberley and took part in the Missa, sung in Kukatja language. The local pastor reported that the Nuncio was favorably pleased. By 2003 the bishop of Broome had intended to present the Missa Kimberley to the Australian bishops for approval, but by then the Fourth Instruction, Liturgiam Authenticam and its overseeing body, Vox Clara—headed by Australian Cardinal George Pell—meant the climate concerning liturgical texts had changed. Fr. Kevin McKelson died in 2011; he never experienced the satisfaction of having his life’s work approved.
To be continued…
[1] Margaret Zucker, From Patrons to Partners and the Separated Children of the Kimberley: A History of the Catholic Church in the Kimberley, WA, 2nd ed. (Sydney: Lindwall and Ward, 2005), 119.
[2] All references to episcopal documents are from the Archives of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
[3] Annibale Bugnini, The Reform of the Liturgy (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1990), 920. Bugnini was the secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
[4] Secretariat of State, No. 232.821.
[5] 5 Prefect of the Congregation of Worship CD 2277/77.
[6] https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/e-news/100-4dd1ad89/editions/178-ae49b500 /user-assets/files/july24reflection.pdf.