Guildford Parish saw a host of celebrations in one day with gratitude to God and the Blessed Mother at the forefront of the celebrations toward the end of last year.
Held on 19 November, the parish marked the first ever World Day of the Poor, as organised by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization and a call by the Holy Father Pope Francis.
The day also saw the commissioning of 7 members to the Saint Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Society and the newly elected president of the Guildford conference, along with an answer to the call of Perth Archbishop Tim Costelloe SDB’s Lifelink Appeal.
Mass was presided by Guildford Parish Priest, Fr Anand Reddy, and was attended by the WA State President Bob Burns and Regional President Lou Daily and various members of different conferences of the SVDP Society, together with relatives and fellow parishioners.
Along with their commissioning, new members to the SVDP Society were presented the constitution of the society and badges.
In addressing those present, Fr Anand Reddy said the day was one of gratitude to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the patroness of the Parish.
“The parish has always wanted the faith we celebrate to be applied practically and starting of the conference is one of the ways of expressing our faith in the context of community here and now,” he said.
Morning tea was hosted after Mass by the parish’s hospitality committee, during which President of the conference, Mr Arthur Vella-Zarb, was given a certificate of appreciation for his 40 years of tireless service in the SVDP Society.