By Anthony Barich
OSBORNE Park parish priest Fr Michael Gatt is on the brink of completing yet another major overhaul at St Kieran’s – a $300,000 job to replace the roof.
On 20 February, Archbishop Barry Hickey will open the renovated church – an event which will include a special Mass and which all past and present parishioners are invited to attend.
When Maltese-born Fr Gatt arrived at the parish in 2000, much work needed to be done.
Since then he has painted and added a backyard and fencing to the presbytery in 2000.
The hard-working priest has also renovated the parish centre by replacing the roof and adding parking and paving in 2004.
In the past five years, he has changed the seating plan, installed a centre aisle which was non-existent initially, changed the lights, replaced the PA system, replaced the fans with airconditioning and installed new carpets.
The ‘new’ church built 27 years ago is a more modern design compared with the previous church building, located adjacent to the new one.
The old church was renovated before Fr Gatt’s arrival in 1985 to include a recreation hall, two meeting rooms, a kitchen, toilet block, mezzanine, verandah and parish hall.
It now serves as the multi-functional parish centre.
As workmen are currently working on the spire of the church with a cherrypicker and the church is a construction site, Fr Gatt has been offering the sacrifice of the Mass for the past six weeks in the old church building.
After completing his October 2010 pastoral visit to the parish, Archbishop Hickey reported: “Financially, the parish is in good shape, without a debt.
“However, an agreement has been reached to repair the church roof.
“This has involved a grant from Lotteries West, a facility from the Archdiocese and a commitment (of $50,000) from the parish so that the work can be done and paid for in a relatively short time.”
February will prove a big month for Fr Gatt – the second-longest serving priest at Osborne Park behind Monsignor Albert Longmead (1937-40, 1946-58) – as 3 February marked the 11th anniversary of the first Mass he offered up there.