The Emergence of Catholic Charismatic Renewal 'in a Country': Australia and Transnational Catholic Charismatic Renewal

Global Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) has been the subject of few scholarly historical studies. Outside the United States, Australia was one of the main early contexts for its emergence and expansion. This article assesses the historical origins and early development of CCR in Australia from a transnational perspective, exploring the relationships and flows between this country and the American upper Midwest 'cockpit' of early CCR - the university cities of South Bend, Indiana, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. These global linkages may be understood as part of a broader 'drift' towards US Christianity in Australia after 1945. Such connections were formative for much of Australian CCR in terms of the development of leadership structures and patterns of practice - in particular, the construction of charismatic communities, such as the Emmanuel Covenant Community, Brisbane, Queensland. The dynamics of these transnational relationships, however, also shaped the emergence of a national movement with a distinctively Australian identity and global sensibility. Increasingly during the 1970s Australians themselves became leading actors in CCR worldwide.