Maida Vale parishioners rolled out their pets for the celebration of the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on Thursday October 4.
Celebrations began with a blessing of pets with parish priest Fr Elver Delicano conducting the ceremony with assistance from Fr Larry Rodillas and Deacon Trevor Lyra.
Both Fr Elver and Fr Larry (from Northhampton Parish) were also celebrating their 10th anniversaries of ordination.
The evening Mass was followed by the blessing of the new Church front doors and the launch of the parish’s new website www.stfrancisofassisi.org.au
This year’s celebrations concluded with a dinner dance at the Woodlupine Community Hall in Forrestfield.
The evening saw dinner generously provided by parishioners and entertainment by the band ‘Young Once’, Rolly Villamil, Beth Jepp and Dorothy Good, a dance exhibition by Len Young and Stella Marshall, Sinulog dancers and the Tinikiling Bamboo Dance.
The Sinulog festival is one of the grandest and most colourful festivals in the Philippines and has a rich history.
The main festival is held each year on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City to honour the Santo Niño, or the child Jesus, who used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu.
It is essentially a dance ritual which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity.
The Parish conducted a raffle over two months and raised more than $40,000 towards the construction of its Garden of Remembrance and Grotto project.