By Bridget Spinks
The remains of the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth, Bishop John Brady, will finally be laid to rest in the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral on 2 August 2011.
Once consecrated Bishop of Perth in 1845, Bishop Brady recruited 27 missionaries for Western Australia including the Irish Sisters of Mercy who started one of the first Catholic schools in Perth (now Mercedes College) and the Spanish Benedictines who established the monastery at New Norcia.
He also built St John’s Pro-Cathedral, the first Catholic church in Perth.
As part of the Archdiocese of Perth’s official reinterment celebrations, a vigil prayer ceremony will take place in St John’s Pro-Cathedral on 1 August at 6pm.
A reinterment ceremony beginning with Mass celebrated by Archbishop Barry Hickey will take place at St Mary’s Cathedral on 2 August at 6.30pm to be followed by reinterment in the crypt.
Senior clergy and priests of the Perth Archdiocese, invited guests, including Anglican Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft and Lord Mayor of Perth Lisa Scaffidi, along with Catholic school students and parishioners of Perth Archdiocese are invited to attend the event.
Bishop Brady’s relatives, including Paddy and Lorna Lavelle from Ireland and the Farrelly family relatives from Perth, will be present to see their relative’s remains finally laid to rest in the diocese he established.
Bishop Brady’s remains were exhumed earlier this year from his grave in Amélie-les-Bains in southern France by a small team led by archeologist and priest of the Perth Archdiocese, Fr Robert Cross.
The Vigil Prayer ceremony on 1 August and the Reinterment Mass of Bishop John Brady on 2 August are public events. All welcome but due to limited seating, RSVPs are essential.
RSVP to Odhran on o.obrien@perthcatholic.org.au. For more information visit www.bishopbrady.com.