After more than 20 years of working for the Archdiocese of Perth, Pastoral Centre Office Manager Miriam Romity will be retiring in November. Photo: Caroline Smith.
With more than 20 years of dedicated work in the Archdiocese of Perth, Miriam Romiti has been well-placed to observe how it has changed and flourished.
Mrs Romiti, who was Office Manager at the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Highgate, has now retired from the role after 12 years, and said she has really enjoyed working with the diverse groups and Church employees based there.
“I’ve worked with quite a few agencies through the Pastoral Centre. The Centre for Liturgy were here when I started back in 2005, and I loved helping with some of the liturgy projects they had,” she said.
“I also enjoyed working with the Justice Ecology and Development Office (formerly the Social Justice Office).
“Overall I’ve learned a lot about liturgy and social justice and people, and it’s been a very varied role.”
Before joining the Pastoral Centre, Mrs Romiti was Secretary at Mirrabooka Parish, St Gerard Majella Church, where she worked alongside former Parish Priests, Father Geoff Aldous and Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton.
She said that while the two settings had been quite different, she had enjoyed the challenges in each.
“Coming from a parish model and then working at the Pastoral Centre, I’ve seen the Archdiocese grow, and it’s a big business model now,” she said.
“But we have a new Archdiocesan Plan which takes everybody into consideration, from the priests to the parishioners and church employees. I hope people will feel connected and cared for with this implementation.”
Mrs Romiti said that one of her favourite aspects of working at the Pastoral Centre was the heritage building in which it’s situated.
“I’ve always said that I feel like a concierge of a heritage hotel,” she said.
“This building is about a 100 old; it used to be a convent belonging to the Sisters of Our Lady of the Mission.
“Every now and then we get people coming through who say they used to go to school here, so we let them have a look around at the rooms, especially the Chapel on the ground floor.”
The building, located in Mary Street, was built in 1899 by architect Edgar Henderson, and was the site of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School, as well as having provided accommodation for the Sisters who taught there.
Major renovations were done in 2004, and Mrs Romiti said she often had to research its history and features to make sure it was maintained in good condition.
Speaking to The eRecord about her retirement, Mrs Romiti said she was looking forward to investing in travel, family and photography.
“My husband loves going on cruises, so we’ve got a couple of those planned,” Mrs Romiti said.
“We’re going to Singapore in November – that will be my retirement cruise, then we’re going with friends to New Zealand in February 2018.
“I’m already booked up for babysitting duty with my grandchildren, and I also want to develop my photography skills. I like taking photos, especially travel photos and I’m just starting on macros now as well.”