Catholic Enquiry founder dies

16 Sep 2009

By Robert Hiini

Thousands entered Church over decades through Centre established by priest.

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One of the great evangelisers of the Catholic Church in Australia and the founding director of the Catholic Enquiry Centre, Fr Tom White, has died in Melbourne aged 86.
The Irish-born Fr White, a priest of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, died last Sunday; his funeral took place in Melbourne on Friday.
In 1958 Fr White answered the call of the bishops of Australia to undertake work to establish the Catholic Enquiry Centre.
The bishops of that time intended that the Centre would reach out to non-Catholics who wished to learn more about the Catholic faith, with a particular focus on non-Catholics who were marrying Catholics.
After spending several months in England studying that country’s enquiry centre, upon which the Australian centre was modelled, Fr White became the founding Director of the CEC in 1959.
The regular outreach of the Centre, including advertising across every form of media and correspondence courses for those interested in becoming Catholic, saw many eventually decide to enter the Church. Although the numbers of those who became Catholic are not known precisely, it is believed many thousands entered the Church after encountering the Enquiry Centre.
Its outreach continues today in areas such as advertising in cinemas, newspapers and television and, in the age of the Internet, providing information online.
Thomas Augustine White was born in County Tipperary, Ireland in 1923 and ordained to the priesthood in 1948, aged 24. The following year he arrived in Melbourne to begin his long ministry.