Four servant-leaders are given esteemed Papal honour.
By Anthony Barich
Pope Benedict XVI has awarded the papal medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (“For Church and Pope”) to Perth priests Fathers Pat Cunningham and Dan Foley, and Monsignors James Nestor and Sean O’Shea.
The presentations were made during the annual clergy Mass for the feast of St Charles Borromeo, patron saint of seminarians, at St Charles Seminary, Guildford on November 8.
The papal medal, a high honour for clergy, recognises individuals for their outstanding contributions to the Church and the Pontiff – in the case of the four Perth clergy, over decades.
Archbishop Hickey told The Record that Mgr O’Shea had been recognised for a lifetime of work in the archdiocese and for some years in Rome. Mgr O’Shea is particularly known for his work and interest in the welfare of seamen through the Catholic Church’s Stella Maris Centre in Fremantle as well as for his contributions in parishes such as Cottesloe and Mosman Park.
He has also developed a special ministry at his most recent appointment on Rottnest Island, where he has been based permanently for the past seven years but has provided chaplaincy on the Island since 1961.
Mgr O’Shea, who worked for the Pontifical Council for Migrant and Itinerant People in Rome from 1987 to 1991, was also awarded the third Des Sullivan Medal by WA Tourism Minister Liz Constable on October 7 for his contribution to Rottnest Island for nearly 50 years.
Mgr Nestor was honoured for a lifetime of service in the field of Catholic education in Western Australia and is recognised widely as the key instigator of the modern Catholic education system in the State.
Mgr Nestor is also credited with having built upon the foundations laid by earlier generations of religious orders such as the Sisters of Mercy, the Christian Brothers and many other religious communities and creating a statewide system of Catholic schools ranging from the Kimberley to the southernmost parts of the State.
Fr Dan Foley, Archbishop Hickey said, has worked in the field of pastoral care in many parishes over the course of a lifetime of priestly service and has made major contributions to the Archdiocese in areas such as his building of the parish of Lockridge where he was the major force in the parish’s creation.
Fr Cunningham, known widely throughout the Archdiocese, was a founding member of St Charles Seminary when it opened and was then Editor of The Record for 22 years until retirement from that position in 1994.
Since then he has been involved in almost every aspect of the Archdiocese in one way or another and now works for the Archdiocese analysing statistics to help it plan for the future.