The Archdiocesan Archives have recently welcomed a special visitor in Dr Cindy Solonec.
Dr Solonec presented her father’s – Frank Rodriguez – Papal Honour Medal to the Archives, which was awarded to him from Pope Pius XII in 1957 for Mr Rodriguez’s contribution to the Catholic Church in the Kimberley.
A Papal medal was also conferred on Tom Puertollano, Frank’s brother-in-law, for his contribution in the region.
The Papal Honour – the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice – was awarded on the recommendation of Bishop Otto Raible, the Administrator Apostolic of the Vicariate of the Kimberley at the time.
Accompanying the medal is a certificate, signed and blessed by Pope Pius XII, which reads:
23rd July 1949 Francis Rodriguez and Family Derby humbly beg the Apostolic Blessing and a Plenary Indulgence at the hour of death on condition that being truly sorry for their sins but unable to receive the last Sacraments they shall at least invoke with their lips and heart the Holy Name of Jesus.
“My father was clearly proud of this award as it is one of the few items that remained with his possessions when he died in 2012,” said Dr Solonec.
“By donating the medal and certificate to the Archdiocese of Perth’s archives, my family and I hope that it will help future generations understand and know the true stories of the development of the Catholic Church in the Kimberley, especially in Derby.
“As a historian myself, I know that stories can change over time. But when archived – like dad’s medal and certificate – we ensure the truth is always available for fact checking.
“The existence of the Archdiocesan Archives give security to valuable historical items that are in turn made easily accessible to the public.”
Dr Solonec kindly shared her father’s story and his dedication to the Kimberley Catholic community, as a background to her and her siblings’ donation to our archives.
“My dad – Frank – came to Western Australia in 1937 at the age of 16 to New Norcia as a Benedictine novitiate.
“Dad stayed in New Norcia for four years before deciding not to take the vows to become a monk.
He was granted dispensation by Abbot Catalan OSB in 1941 before he ventured to the Kimberley in 1944.”
When Frank reached the West Kimberley, the Catholic Church already had a presence in the towns and on missions where they trained Aboriginal people as domestics and labourers.
“My father’s devoutness to the Catholic Church remained unfaltering when he moved to the Kimberley, where he met our mother. She too had been a novitiate, in a convent for Aboriginal women at Beagle Bay Mission north of Broome, but she chose to leave,” shared Dr Solonec.
“My father met, Katie Fraser a Nigena (Nyikina) woman, at Liveringa Station southeast of Derby where they both worked.
“Dad, a builder, constructed the first Catholic Church in Derby in 1946 from salvaged materials. It was post-WWII and building supplies were scarce. Therefore, the Pallottine priest based in Derby at the time – Fr Albert Scherzinger – was able to arrange for dismantled corrugated iron huts from an army camp at Noonkanbah Station to be transported to Derby.
“Dad had agreed to build the Church because he and mum wanted to get married on the ‘Feast of the Immaculate Conception’ on 8 December. He laid the foundations on 25 September, and they were married by Bishop Raible on their preferred day in the Church that he built.”
The Derby Church became one of several building projects that Mr Rodriguez undertook including the St John of God convent in Derby in 1955 as requested by the sisters; and St Joseph’s Hostel as requested by the Derby resident priest, Fr Joe Kearney in 1957.
These services to the Derby Catholic Church and community formed part of the Papal Honour Medal recommendation from Bishop Raible.
Dr Solonec has written her parents story in a book called ‘Debesa: The Story of Frank and Katie Rodriguez’ that can be purchased via Magabala Books: https://magabala.com.au/collections/cindy-solonec