Spanish priests forge links with Salvado’s home diocese and St Mary’s

06 Jan 2010

By The Record

By Anthony Barich
National Reporter
Two Spanish priests from the Diocese of Tuy-Vigo where Bishop Rosendo Salvado hails from were in Perth for the opening and dedication of St Mary’s Cathedral to learn more about him in preparation for the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2014.

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Frs Juan Luis Martinez Diz and Jesus Casas Otero from Spain in front of St Mary’s Cathedral. Photo: Anthony Barich

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fr Jesus Casas Otero, 75, the director of the Diocesan Museum, and Fr Juan Luis Martinez Diz, 36, in charge of five parishes in Tuy-Vigo, were also here to represent Bishop Salvado’s heritage at the re-opening of the Cathedral at which he laid the foundation stone in 1863.
Back in the Diocese of Tuy-Vigo, Bishop Salvado’s name is known, but his exploits in establishing the Diocese of Perth are largely unknown.
There is a statue of Bishop Salvado not far from St Mary’s in the Diocese of Tuy-Vigo, and the local secular newspaper ran a story on the two priests’ special visit to Perth to forge a link between Salvado’s Australian diocese and his Spanish home.
The two visiting priests aim to change that, by visiting Bishop Salvado’s tomb in the church in the Benedictine town of New Norcia which he helped build as a mission for Aborigines.
Fr Martinez’s interest in Bishop Salvado originated in the Jubilee Year of 2000, when he joined the seminary and his Diocese celebrated the 100th anniversary of his death. In 2008 he led five other priests from his diocese and 25 pilgrims to Perth for Days in the Diocese in preparation for World Youth Day in Sydney.
His group was billeted at homes of Our Lady of Grace, North Beach parishioners. Afterwards, parishioner Sally Millar posted him an article from The Record on Bishop Salvado, and his interest grew. He sought an invitation from Archbishop Barry Hickey to return to Perth for the re-opening and dedication of St Mary’s Cathedral, which was one of the late prelate’s
legacies.
“To return to Perth for this occasion is a great honour,” said Fr Martinez, the youngest of three children whose parents have now moved into his presbytery, and his mother cooks for him – a cultural norm. He was shocked to discover this does not happen in Australia.