HENRY Carlon of Uralla was invested as a Papal Knight after Mass in St Joseph’s Catholic Church on Saturday night.
Catholic Bishop of Armidale, Most Rev Luc Matthys, officiated at the investiture, assisted by Monsignor Wayne Peters, the parish priest of Uralla.
The investiture was a public ceremony and was witnessed by hundreds of Henry Carlon’s family, relatives, friends and parishioners.
History teacher, long time resident and parishioner, Richard Ryan, said it was the first such honour given to anyone from Uralla.
Mgr Peters said that during his 40 years as a priest only four other Papal Knighthoods had been granted to laymen in the Armidale Diocese.
Given from the Vatican on September 10, 2009, the honour has the title of a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St Gregory the Great, who was pope from 590 to 604, and who is remembered for having sent St Augustine and 40 missionaries to convert England.
The Order of St Gregory the Great was established in 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI, who reigned from 1831 to 1846, and appointed a Benedictine monk, John Bede Polding as the first resident bishop in Australia, and whose jurisdiction included Uralla, which he first visited in 1861.
Archbishop Polding was welcomed by Henry Carlon’s forebears, who had settled in the Uralla district in 1859 and became prominent woolgrowers on their property ‘Talisker’.
Henry is a son of the late Jim Carlon and his wife, Gladys (nee Burton).
After completing his schooling at De La Salle College in Armidale, Henry also became a woolgrower.
He married Pam Baker in 1952, and they have been together for 57 years.
They have four sons, Greg, Terry, Paul and Ross, and two daughters, Sue Barnden and Maree Schultz, and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Henry has been a life long member of St Joseph’s Parish, in which he has been an acolyte for 30 years.
His service also included membership of the Parish Council and the St Vincent de Paul Society.
He is well known in Uralla for his commitment to ecumenical activities.
For many years Henry was one of the main organisers of the Holy Spirit conference held annually in the diocese at Pentecost.
Summing up Henry’s contribution, Mgr Peters said ‘Henry Carlon has led a remarkable life’.
“It is a life that has been marked by a deep commitment to the Catholic Church and the Catholic faith”, Mgr Peters said.
“Henry’s contribution to the church on a parish and diocesan basis has been outstanding.”
Bishop Matthys said to Henry during the investiture, ‘I am very proud of you’.
Although there were no speeches, many people were forthcoming with their praise for Henry’s other community service including a life long association with the Show Society.
Acknowledging the vital contribution made by Henry’s wife, Pam, Mgr Peters presented her with a large bouquet of flowers.
Mgr Peters said he had researched the privileges which went with the knighthood and the only one he could find was that Henry would be entitled to ride his horse at St Peter’s in Rome.
Henry said he mostly mustered sheep on his motor bike and did not think Pope Benedict XVI would want a Kawasaki thundering around the Vatican.
After reading the citation Mgr Peters pinned the papal medal on Henry, and then Bishop Matthys presented the framed parchment.
A portion of the Latin inscription on the parchment, when translated, states: ‘We have singled you out and accept you as one who is truly meritorious with regard to the well being of the Church’.
Guests at the investiture included Father Jack Soulsby, SM, from Brisbane, Rev Gerry Alais from the Anglican Church in Uralla, Rev Russell Morris from the Uniting Church, and Robert Hanna of Armidale, whose
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