By Peter Rosengren
Perth’s Vicar General Monsignor Brian O’Loughlin will be an extremely busy man from now on, holding down three roles in the Archdiocese. Not only is he Vicar General of the Archdiocese and a judge on the
Western Australian and national appeal tribunals, he has been appointed
parish priest of South Perth by Archbishop Hickey after Fr Michael
Casey, the long-time South Perth Priest, retires from 31 years of
service.
However, he told The Record last week that he is looking forward to his new role with relish after having lived in an Archdiocesan unit on parish grounds for the last four years.
“I know the careful administration and attention to detail that Fr Casey has lavished on the parish and I feel privileged to succeed such an outstanding priest,” he said.
Mgr O’Loughlin, who was appointed a protonotary apostolic with the title of Monsignor by Pope Benedict XVI in early 2009, said that he has come to know and love the parish and its members over the last few years and is looking forward to taking up his appointment in one of the most beautiful traditional churches in the Archdiocese – “and one that has the most commanding view.”
It’s true. The parish church sits high above the suburb with a near perfect view north across the Swan River to the CBD of Perth, by day and by night.
He will take up his new appointment on 25 February when Fr Casey’s term as parish priest concludes.
Longtime South Perth parishioners might recognise that the appointment of a Monsignor as parish priest continues a tradition. Mgr JT McMahon was a longtime parish priest of South Perth and, like Mgr O’Loughlin, also held down a senior role for the Archdiocese; in Mgr McMahon’s case as Director of Catholic Schools.
Mgr O’Loughlin was born in Fremantle in 1949 and educated at Iona Presentation College Primary and then at Christian Brothers College in Fremantle.
He entered St Charles Seminary in Guildford in 1967 where he completed his Leaving Certificate and studies in Philosophy before being sent to St Francis Xavier Seminary in Adelaide to study Theology. He was ordained to the diaconate in Adelaide in 1973 and to the priesthood in St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth in 1974.
Over the last 37 years he has held a number of appointments as assistant priest at Nollamara, Subiaco, Nedlands and Cottesloe and then as parish priest at Embleton, Mount Lawley and Claremont.
He was appointed Vicar General in 2003, with the appointment growing to a fulltime role shortly after that. However, Mgr O’Loughlin quickly pointed out that although he will be busy in his various appointments, he is a strong believer in regularly taking annual holidays to rest the mind and the body.
Through a longstanding association with the Fremantle-based Stella Maris Seafarers’ Association – an international Catholic outreach to mariners – and former Port Chaplain Monsignor Sean O’Shea, he has regularly offered his services as a Catholic chaplain on cruise ships.
Each year he participates in the Apostleship of the Sea Cruise Ship programme, which provides Catholic chaplains for ships on cruise.
“It’s an excellent way of taking annual leave, going to interesting places and meeting engaging people while, at the same time, remaining pastorally useful at sea,” he said.
In 2009, he found himself filling the role of chaplain on a ship bound from Rome to Istanbul. Before the trip he photocopied maps from his Bible of the missionary journeys of St Paul because the ship would be visiting many of the same places as Christianity’s greatest missionary had done two millennia earlier. He also photocopied chapters 12 to 20 from the Acts of the Apostles.
During daily Mass celebrated on board he distributed the photocopied maps and suggested his congregation try reading the relevant chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.
“It was remarkable how many of the passengers felt that reading of Paul’s journeys and following them on the maps made their voyage into a pilgrimage in the footsteps of St Paul,” he said.