WHEN Fr Paul Raj was ordained in 1982 in Chennai, India, he never imagined he would spend the majority of his priesthood in Perth. But this year marks 25 years since Fr Raj first arrived in Australia, eventually being incardinated into the Archdiocese of Perth in 1995. Fr Raj told The Record his journey to Perth started when he migrated to Melbourne at the invitation of his brother in...

WORLDWIDE Marriage Encounter (WWME), a ministry formed to proclaim the value of marriage and holy orders, will celebrate 40 years of work in Australia on August 17. Founded in Spain in 1952, WWME spread to Sydney in 1974, and then to other parts of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The work of WWME revolves around a ‘Marriage Encounter Weekend’, in which married couples ...

IN 1964, a young seminarian preparing for ordination to the priesthood was told to prepare for death and forget about becoming a priest. Suffering from systemic lupus, the young man was hoping to make it through the final six months before his ordination. But with the help of God, he didn’t just make it to his ordination, he went much further. Fr Anscar McPhee celebrated his Golden Ju...

THE VERY BEST of Christian artwork was on show again in Perth last week during the exhibition of submissions for the Mandorla Art Award. Paul Kaptein’s untitled sculptural artwork was judged the winner of this year’s award, with the judges describing the piece as “technically very refined”. The laminated timber sculpture was hand-carved out of Paulownia wood, and secured the $25,000 p...

In his sermon delivered to Mass-goers at St Mary’s Cathedral in Perth on July 20, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB spoke of the “terrible act of violence in Ukraine which has cost so many lives and horrified the world”, as answers are sought to questions about flight MH17.

The final edition of The Record will not spell the end of local news and events coverage, says Archdiocese of Perth communications and media manager James Parker. From early September, a new e-newsletter, together with a printed four-page newsletter, will deliver the latest news and events for the Archdiocese.

In 2014, Australia’s first Catholic university celebrates its silver anniversary. On December 21, 1989, the dreams and visions of a committed group of Western Australians were realised with the passing of The University of Notre Dame Australia Act by the Parliament of Western Australia.

The University of Notre Dame Australia has changed significantly since Professor Chris Hackett stepped through its doors as part of the inaugural cohort of postgraduate education students in the early 90s; however, he says it has remained true to its roots.

TWENTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD Perth Catholic David Chua took the first major step towards becoming a Dominican priest recently, receiving the Order's habit and taking on the name of Br Reginald Mary. The former Willetton resident joined the Dominicans in Adelaide last year as a novice, and received the habit and religious name on June 27, the feast of the Sacred Heart. Br Reginald told The Re...

Oblate priest Fr Fraccid Anthony OMI visited Perth recently, encouraging Catholics to assist the home for the mentally handicapped he runs in Sri Lanka. Fr Fraccid founded Sahana Medura, which means ‘garden of tranquility’ in 1993 as a means of addressing some of the nation’s biggest problems at the time – suicide, substance abuse and alcoholism. He told The Record that while those is...