Much-loved former parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Rockingham for 31 years, Fr Finbarr Walsh passed away peacefully at Fremantle Hospital on May 31, aged 83.
His Pontifical Requiem Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Thursday, June 7, was attended by more than 600 people and over 60 priests and was concelebrated by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey, Bishop Donald Sproxton, Parish Priest Fr Michael Separovich, Fr Michael Casey, and two of his former assistant priests, Fr Benny Calanza and Fr Vittorio Ricciardi.
Choristers from the choir at St Mary’s Cathedral provided the music, as Fr Separovich told The Record, “Fr Walsh loved music, but couldn’t sing a note.”
Religious orders, such as the Sisters of St John of God, the Josephites and the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, and others, were represented.
Henry Finbarr Walsh (known as Finbarr) was born in Cork City, Co Cork, Ireland, on March 5, 1929, the son of Sheila and Henry, and brother of Malachy, Aidan (dec), John and Pat. He was educated at the Christian Brothers’ College, Cork and All Hallows College, Dublin.
Fr Walsh was ordained on June 21, 1953, at All Hallows for the Archdiocese of Perth, arriving here on November 19, that same year.
He was appointed assistant priest at West Perth on the same day and on February 26, 1954, was appointed assistant priest at Cottesloe.
Then on March 3, 1957, Fr Walsh was appointed assistant priest at St Mary’s Cathedral and was appointed Secretary of the Church Office in April 1964. Fr Walsh became Administrator of St
Mary’s Cathedral on July 31, 1969, and also appointed a member of the Council of Priests.
On Christmas Day 1972 he became Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral and, in 1973, was the WA Coordinator for the International Eucharistic Congress held in Melbourne.
On May 16, 1976, Fr Walsh was transferred to be the parish priest of the rapidly growing Rockingham Parish, where he built the new Our Lady of Lourdes Church together with a spacious presbytery and parish centre, Star of the Sea parish school and Kolbe College regional high school.
Continuing his support for Catholic education, he was appointed the Council of Priests’ representative on the Catholic Education Commission of WA in March 1989.
Fr Walsh retired from active parish ministry in May 2007 and moved to a unit in Shoalwater purchased for him by the Archdiocese, then to Castledare Retirement Village, Wilson.
In 2009, he was honoured with the Papal Award Croce pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in recognition of his apostolic work in the local Church throughout more than 50 years of priesthood.
He was almost 59 years a priest. Student representatives were present at the funeral with symbols of the schools that he established in Rockingham.
Fr Walsh’s brother John and his wife Claire came from Ireland to attend the funeral and Mr Walsh thanked the Archbishop and spoke on behalf of his brother’s niece Felicity and the family.
Archbishop Costelloe concluded his homily by saying: “As you pray for him today, and entrust him to the Lord, may you also commit yourselves to keeping his memory alive by trying to be all that he hoped and prayed you would be.”
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him and may he rest in peace. Amen.