By Anthony Barich
National Reporter
St Joachim’s Parish in Victoria Park has been transformed by its stint as the Archdiocesan Pro-Cathedral, outgoing Cathedral Dean Monsignor Thomas McDonald said.
“When St Joachim’s became the Pro-Cathedral it revitalised the parish here, and, of course, as the Cathedral liturgy came to St Joachim’s, many of the St Joachim’s parishioners were utterly delighted, and said they’d never experienced anything like this before,” Mgr McDonald told The Record.
Mgr McDonald, 60, handed over the reigns as Dean of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to Mgr Michael Keating during the December 8 opening and re-dedication Mass but will remain acting Cathedral Dean until the Cathedral Palace presbytery renovations are completed and Mgr Keating can move in.
It is unknown when the palace restorations will be complete, but Archbishop Barry Hickey said at the December 8 Mass that Mgr Keating should resume his duties in the new year of 2010.
St Joachim’s is a distinctly multicultural parish, Mgr McDonald said, with significant Italian and Filipino communities and the Couples for Christ apostolate has made St Joachim’s their home.
A “very significant” group of young students from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia who study at Curtin also attend the 6pm Mass on Sunday evenings with a youth music group, said Mgr McDonald, who shared pastoral duties at St Joachim’s with his two assistant priests Frs Jesus Bello and Noel Latt.
Mgr McDonald took over as St Joachim’s parish priest from Fr John Gandini on September 2 after the last Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on August 27, 2006 before its closure for restoration and completion. The first Masses at St Joachim’s as the Pro-Cathedral were held the following weekend.
Since then, St Joachim’s has been the home for most major diocesan events, including Good Friday, Easter weekend and Christmas ceremonies, though ordinations to the deaconate and the priesthood have been held elsewhere.
St Joachim’s also saw Sister Bernadette take her permanent profession in the Missionaries of the Gospel in October 2008, as the start of a new Association of Christ’s Faithful.
Cathedral parishioner Kath Jaques said in the November 22 St Joachim’s Parish Bulletin that “some trepidation” was felt by both the Cathedral and St Joachim’s parishioners about the move.
She said that a St Joachim’s parishioner expressed the concern that the merger might disrupt the culture of the St Joachim’s parish, “so we were aware of a possible resentment of changes we might bring about. We hope that we have not been too disruptive and that you have benefited in some ways from our presence”.
Mgr McDonald said these fears were soon dispelled, and Kath Jaques said that some Cathedral parishioners have even decided to remain as St Joachim’s parishioners, “so that is a measure of how at home we have felt”.
Mgr McDonald, who has been Cathedral Dean for 18 years, said that “in the main, St Joachim’s parishioners looked upon their church being chosen as the Pro-Cathedral as an honour and as a blessing”.
“St Joachim’s is a wonderful parish community. The parishioners are lovely people; they are a people of great faith and people who are very supportive of the priests and very appreciative of what the priests do for them,” he said.
Prior to the move to St Joachim’s, the Cathedral’s average Sunday attendances were around the 1800 mark over all the Masses. Coming to St Joachim’s, the average mass attendance on Sunday was half that, closer to 1000, as he said many Cathedral parishioners went elsewhere.
“A very significant number of Cathedral parishioners”, however, came to St Joachim’s each and every Sunday, he said.
Archbishop Barry Hickey has asked Mgr McDonald to continue with pastoral care at St Joachim’s while remaining as acting Cathedral Dean until Mgr Keating can move into the Cathedral Palace.
Prior to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception’s closure, its parish consisted of people from roughly 65 suburbs in the Metropolitan area.
The Cathedral will be opened during certain hours between the December 8 opening and Christmas Eve, when it will be fully opened to the public.
The new weekly timetable for the Cathedral will commence on the weekend on December 26-27, 2009.
As much as he loved the St Joachim’s community, Mgr McDonald said that he felt “very much at home again” during the December 5 blessing of the sacred vessels and vestments and blessing and interment of the five Perth diocesan Bishops.
“I’m extremely happy with the completion of the Cathedral project, and coming back home was a wonderful experience,” he said.