By Glynnis Grainger
ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey and Fr Michael Gatt concelebrated a special Mass on 20 February to mark the re-opening and blessing of St Kieran’s Church, Tuart Hill in the parish of Osborne Park.
This was to mark the completion of a $300,000 roof replacement on the church. After completing his October 2010 pastoral visit to the parish, Archbishop Hickey reported: “Financially, the parish is in good shape, without a debt. However, an agreement has been reached to repair the church roof. This has involved a grant from Lottery West, a facility from the Archdiocese and a commitment (of $50,000) from the parish so that the work can be done and paid for in a relatively short time.”
About 600 parishioners, past parishioners and guests attended the 8.30am Mass, which was followed by a special morning tea in the Parish Centre, which is the original church where Mass has been celebrated for the past six weeks during building works.
Fr Gatt said the day was the feastday of “our patron, Saint Kieran, in thanksgiving to God for all the blessings we have received from Him over the last 97 years”.
“We are here because our forefathers have prepared the good ground for us through faith and community, and so we do remember them,” he said. “We can also reflect on … the many thousands and thousands who were baptised in our two churches; were fed with the Eucharist, were confirmed and married. Now that we have completed the good work of refurbishment, I’m privileged to ask His Grace the Archbishop to re-open our church and bless it again for the glory of God.”
Archbishop Hickey congratulated Fr Gatt and said in his homily: “One of the things that happens at an occasion like this is that we remember the past. We go back to 1914 and see how much love God has produced. Since 1914, the Mass has been celebrated here.
“Jesus wants to be the heart of this community and wants to be with us at all times. We are not just individuals travelling through life but members of a community. St Paul went to the various communities to preach … for us to understand the good news.
“The community therefore responds by putting this to good use . . . loving one’s enemy and being good to those who persecute us. There are people who attack us because of our beliefs.”
The previous Wednesday night, he said, he went to a little parish group in Beaufort Street and they invited the homeless to give some support. Asked to say a few words, he said he believed he had heard some gossip about him and God suddenly prompted him to love those who say bad things about us.
“I will welcome them with a smile and do something good for them. I haven’t had the chance to do that yet but I hope,” he said.
“Sometimes God just goes past us. When someone says bad things about you, the natural reaction is to be angry. Jesus says: ‘Do something good for them.’ The parish must try to put into practice that Gospel – we are learning how to love.”
Fr Gatt said that early in his priesthood he realised that the best way to communicate and to run a parish is the basic principle of a family, “and I’m happy to say that this has been a pattern that I have followed for many, many years, and it is very effective”.
He said the motto of the parish is to be fair, firm and friendly, under the patronage of St Kieran.
He said the creation of the parish kept the late Archbishop Patrick Clune and the late Archbishop Redmond Prendiville pondering for 30 years – from 1907 to 1937, when the parish was erected in its own right. The mother parish continued to support the newly-erected parishes between 1937 and 1958, including Scarborough, North Beach, Gwelup, Wanneroo, Nollamara, Balcatta, and other parishes between Osborne Park and Wanneroo, at a later date.
“We pray that we’ll continue to grow in faith, hope and love,” Fr Gatt said. “Today, the church is the landmark of Osborne Park and we thank the Lord for this.”
The congregation also sang Happy birthday to Fr Gatt, who turned 73 on 13 February.
Fr Gatt also mentioned that parishioner Mark Rucci is becoming a seminarian after the death of his mother one year ago.