By Monsignor Brian O’Louglin
The adjacent photo is of the gravestone of Fr Raphael Pace, a Maltese who was South Perth’s founding parish priest in October 1917.
Fr Pace transferred in 1925, died in 1953 and was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery.
Some years ago, Karrakatta Cemetery approached the Arch-diocese about the priests’ graves along Railway Road which had been vandalised.
The proposal was to create a new lawn section by removing the monumental work and creating a new grave between each existing grave.
The Archdiocese agreed and the monumental work was removed at the cemetery’s expense and offered to the parishes where the priests had served.
Fr Pace’s legacy beyond South Perth parish is twofold. Firstly, while serving on the staff of St Mary’s Cathedral in 1916, he received the Goody family into the Catholic Church. Among them were the eight-year-old Launcelot John and his sister, Kath.
Fr Pace’s memory, or at least, the memory of his dear mother, Mary, occupies a prominent place in St Mary’s Cathedral, specifically in relation to the Cathedra, the bishop’s throne.
During the alterations to the Cathedral in the 1970s, Archbishop Goody had a beautiful polished jarrah sedilia made into the Cathedra.
Prominent as the centrepiece is a mother of pearl rondel inscribed “In memory of Mary Pace”.
Late last year, Fr Pace’s gravestone came to the parish. The distinctive Maltese Cross states his birth in Malta and the date of his death in Perth in August 1953.
The gravestone will form a feature of a planned parish Columbarium. Parishioners and former parishioners are invited to express their interest even at this early stage.
Since 1917, there have been five parish priests of St Columba’s. Fr Pace was succeeded by Dean Dennis Aloysius Brennan, who had served as parish priest of Narrogin and thus had the title Dean.
He was distinguished by service as an AIF Chaplain at Gallipoli in 1915.
Dean Brennan wrote to The Record giving an account of how the troops had lifted the roof off the church in Cairo at morning Mass and again at evening Benediction!
Perth’s archdiocesan archives has a photograph of Dean Brennan and the officers mounted on animals before the Sphinx.
Dean Brennan was succeeded by Rev Dr John T McMahon in 1932 who had undertaken postgraduate studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. While in America, he met Monsignor Corcoran, an Irish-born priest who belonged to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Monsignor Corcoran invited Dr McMahon to visit Christ the King Church, at the major Hollywood intersection of Melrose Boulevard and North Rossmore Street.
Dr McMahon was so impressed with the Spanish Mission-style church, that he returned to Perth with a copy of the plans, and presented them to prominent architect, Edgar Le B Henderson. So South Perth owes its distinctive style church to Hollywood, California.
While there, Dr McMahon made the acquaintance of some well-known Hollywood identities, including Bing Crosby, as the adjacent photograph attests.
Monsignor McMahon retired in 1979 and died in 1989.
He was succeeded by Fr Michael Casey who, after 32 years of dedicated service as parish priest, was succeeded by Monsignor Brian O’Loughlin on February 25, 2011.
The 75th anniversary of the blessing and opening of St Columba’s by Archbishop Redmond Prendiville on April 11, 1937 was celebrated on the feast of St Columba, June 9, 2012, with major celebrant Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB.
To commemorate the event, copies of an exquisite 1957 watercolour painting of St
Columba’s by Albert Smith were reproduced in postcard and A3 poster sizes (available for 50 cents and $30, respectively, from the parish office on 9367 3950).
The 25th anniversary of Mgr McMahon’s death is on Sunday, January 19. Prayers will be offered for him in the Vigil Mass at 6pm and on Sunday at 7.30am and 9.30am. All are welcome.
St Columba’s has also been served by three administrators. The first was Rev Charles Cunningham (1935-1936) who served as an Army Chaplain in Papua New Guinea during World War II.
Here is an account of his service before the bloody battle against entrenched Japanese forces at Gona Beach: Before the assault, he told troops he was going to offer Mass for them.
He selected a nearby site for the Mass and 120-150 soldiers followed him. He preceded Mass with general absolution and set aside the approximate number of hosts for those who had followed him.
In those days, Mass was said by the priest with his back to the people. When Padre Cunningham turned around to face the assembled troops for Holy Communion, he realised their numbers had grown but said to himself, “Well, they probably won’t want to receive Communion”.
He proceeded to distribute the consecrated hosts but the line of men coming seemed endless.
So he started breaking the hosts, but he did this just a few times before realising he still would have enough hosts and, strangely, the supply of hosts had not seemed to lessen, so he continued to give every man who approached the full host.
He averred later on that he would have distributed Communion to more than 450 men.
When the Diocese of Bunbury was created in 1954, the foundation Bishop, Dr LJ Goody appointed him Vicar General.
He served for many years as parish priest of Albany and, for his services, was awarded the MBE. Mgr Cunningham died in October 1982.
The subsequent Administrators were Fr Alan Johnston (1949-1950) who had previously been at St Francis Xavier Seminary, Adelaide and who died on December 13, 1957 and Croatian-born Fr Mirco (Michael) Maslovar (1974-1975), who died September 1981.
There are 13 deceased former assistant priests at St Columba’s. RIP.