Columbarium, a tradition that stems from Roman times, Salvatorian Regional Superior says as Archbishop blesses Gosnells’ new addition
By Bridget Spinks
ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey celebrated Mass at Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Gosnells on 6 June, the feast of Corpus Christi, to bless Gosnells parish’s new columbarium.
Regional Superior of the Polish Province of Salvatorian Fathers, Fr Karol Kulczyzki SDS and Gosnells parish priest, Fr Dariusz Basiaga SDS, concelebrated the Mass.
“A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns that is, urns holding a deceased’s cremated remains,” Fr Dariusz said.
“In ancient times, Roman columbariums were built underground whereas today’s columbariums can be either free standing units, or part of a mausoleum or another building.”
Mayor of the City of Gosnells, Cr Olwen Searle, Chris Tallentire MLA and representatives from neighbouring parishes were also present.
Before Mass, the congregation assembled in the school grounds to pray and process behind a life-size statue of Our Lady, which forms the centrepiece of the columbarium.
The parishioners sang hymns as members of the Parish Columbarium Committee carried the statue of Our Lady into the church, flanked by a guard of honour of St Munchin’s Primary School students holding blue and white ribbons.
Children from the after-school religious education programme presented the Gospel and Lumen Christi College students provided a Liturgical Movement as part of the thanksgiving after Communion.
At the conclusion of Mass, Archbishop Hickey blessed the statue of Our Lady, which a parish family had donated.
Archbishop Hickey congratulated the parish on the completion of its new columbarium and presented the official copy of the Constitution of the Columbarium Committee to the Chairperson, Bill Tucker.
After Mass, the congregation walked behind the statue of Our Lady as it was carried to the centre of the new columbarium area behind the church.
Archbishop Hickey then blessed the columbarium wall, and St Munchin’s Primary School students planted a rose in the garden symbolising the unity of the parish and its school.
“The columbarium with its beautiful rose gardens and peaceful ambience will provide the final resting place for many deceased persons who have had an affinity with the parish of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Gosnells,” Fr Dariusz said.
Fr Dariusz said the project was instigated and inspired by Fr Nicholas Nweke, who had the “vision to beautify the grounds surrounding the church”.
It was his idea for the parish to build a columbarium in an unused area behind the sanctuary walls of the church, Fr Dariusz said.
The Parish Columbarium Committee formed at the start of the year worked together for six months with Fr Nweke’s encouragement to bring together the project, which will now “provide a sacred place on the parish property for departed parishioners,” Fr Dariusz said.
Application forms for niche reservations and memorial plaques may be downloaded from the parish website www.gosnellsparish.org.au.
OUR Lady of Mount Carmel Hilton parish priest Fr Patrick Lim hopes to build a parish columbarium both to “provide a service to the parish” and finance the building of a parish centre.
“When I came to Hilton in May 2008, people were asking for a hall. We had no facilities for meetings and gatherings. But financially we can’t afford to build anything unless we borrowed lots of money,” Fr Lim said. The plan to build an indoor columbarium would help the parish raise the funds to build a parish centre. This would include the columbarium and a multi-purpose hall, a Sunday morning tea serving area, St Vincent de Paul’s food storage area, meeting rooms, parish offices and a presbytery.
An estimated cost per 50-year single niche reservation is $3000 and $4500 for a double although the conditions of the columbarium have not been finalised. There will be a limited number of family niches available that would fit five urns at an estimated cost of $10,000.
At least 120 expressions of interest are needed to approach Archbishop Barry Hickey with a proposal for his approval. 5000 brochures about the columbarium have been printed to raise awareness of the project among the wider Catholic community, and many Catholic churches in Singapore have columbariums. The columbarium in the proposed parish centre would be located on the grounds where the presbytery and existing building behind the presbytery stand so people would be able to attend Mass and visit the resting place of relatives at the same time.