St Francis Xavier Parish, Mackay

St Francis Xavier Parish is a Catholic parish, serving the needs of the Catholic communities living in the western and southern suburbs of Mackay, Queensland. The parish has existed since 1947, but the Church was blessed and dedicated in 1962. St Francis Xavier Parish has grown into a large parish, servicing Church needs, community functions, and operating a primary school.

The Church of St Francis Xavier

Gratitude, joy and pride filled the hearts of the congregation of 1000 who joined in the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass, following the blessing and dedication of St Francis Xavier Church, on the night of Thursday, September 13, 1962.

As it has been so often since then, the church was filled to overflowing and the 200 parishioners who were unable to be accommodated in the church, followed the Mass from the two side verandahs.

The Church was blessed and dedicated by Most Rev. Francis Rush, D.D (who went on to become Archbishop of Brisbane. During his homily, Bishop Rush said, "This solemn function follows closely on a Novena or prayer and penance, during which you begged God's blessing on the Vatican Council."

"You have prayed that as a result of the Council, the Church will be renewed - made new again - that all men be able to recognise its beauty and holiness. In prayer and self-denial you resolved, by renewing your own lives to do what you could not to renew the Church of which you are a part..."

"I can't help thinking how appropriate it is that as the close of this Novena of renewal, you should use your magnificent new church building for the first time. It is appropriate because you and I see in this new church more than a brick building of rare design and excellent construction. For us, the church, like any other church building is a symbol of the Universal Church of God, the Universal Church for whose renewal you have been praying and denying yourselves."

"It is to Father Healion's honour and to the credit of the architect, Mr Brown and the builder, Mr Guthrie, that they have combined to give you a building which reflects the purpose, the beauty and the grandeur of the Universal Church. The majestice beauty of altar, crucifix and canopies speak to us of the central position for the Mass in the public prayer of Catholics. It is the act by which the whole Church offers itself with the Body and Blood of Christ in Sacrifice."

Bishop Rush went on to say, "The strikingly artistic baptistry, the well-designed confessionals and altar rails bear silent and forcible testimony to the place of the life-giving sacraments in our lives."

"The prominence of the pulpit is a reminder that a church building is meant for the preaching of God's word as well as for the offering of His sacrifice and the distibution of His grace through the sacraments. Your side chapels, quiet and secluded, admirably satisfy the further requirement that a church be suitable for private prayer and meditation."

The Church of St Francis Xavier is rich in tradition and in spiritual and national significance. It was designed to accord with the modern concept of austere simplicity while still reflecting the beauty and power of the great churches of Europe, and examples of Gothic, Spanish and Celtic Romanesque architecture have been blended harmoniously in the design.

The upper part of the front wall has been acclaimed as a masterpiece of design and workmanship. It consists of five parts linked together in unobtrusive brickwork rising to the apex.

In the centre is a shamrock-shaped stained glass window and just as St Patrick is said to have used the leaves of the shamrock to explain the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the leaves of the shamrock in the Church of St Francis Xavier, portray 1000 years of Catholicism. Depicted on one leaf is St Celestine during whose pontificate, the dogma of the Blessed Virgin becoming the Mother of God, was defined. It was also St Celestine who commissioned Patrick to preach the faith to the Irish, and St Patrick is depicted is depicted on a second leaf of the shamrock. The figures on the third leaf represent the bishops, priests and people who brought the faith of St Patrick to Australia and handed it on to the succeeding generations.

Two other stained glass windows portray the patron of the church, St Francis Xavier and Mary, the Mother of God. The windows were the gift of an anonymous donor as a tribute to the pioneer bishops, priests and people of the district.

They were designed and made by the world famous Clarke studios in Ireland. They had not arrived by the time the front wall was being completed and so spaces were left in the brickwork for them. So precise was the work of both the bricklayers and the window makers that when the windows did arrive, they fitted perfectly.

Set high in the front wall also are the stars of the Southern Cross, reflecting the spirit that the pioneer settlers found in their new homeland; and placed to shine out high above the church, is a Lantern for the Dead. Although at that time a feature unique in Australia, the Lantern for the Dead, a light burning through the night, is a traditional practice in Europe. From St Francis Xavier's, the Lantern for the Dead, also intended to honour the pioneers, looks out over the Mackay cemetery which is the resting place of so many of them.

St Francis Xavier's was built as a War Memorial Church to remember forever those who gave their lives for God and for country and there are several present day parishioners who pray in it for the souls of their own relatives who died in the cause of freedom.

The church has historical significance as well - as it was the contribution of the Catholics of West Mackay towards Mackay's centenary year celebrations.

When the foundation stone of the church was laid a year earlier, there was set with it a capsule containing a copy of the Daily Mercury newspaper, messages from the Mayor of Mackay and R.S.L. officials, a stone from Xavier Castle in Spain, the home of St Francis Xavier, and soil from Ireland and Fatima.

Priests from many Queensland centres came to Mackay for the ceremony and the congregation included 50 Sisters of Mercy, Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus from the St Vincent de Paul Home for the Aged People, Christian Brothers and uniformed school children. A choir of girls accompanied by a Sister of Mercy on the new Conn organ, then the only one of its type in Mackay, sang during the Mass.

The congregation included Rev. J.T. Given, representing the Church of England West Mackay Parish, Alderman Stan Cawte, representing the Mayor of Mackay and the City Council and Mr Ben Hogan representing the Returned Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen Imperial League of Australia.

In welcoming the visitors, Father Healion said, "I am proud of this church and I know there are many who share my pride." He thanked all who had been associated with the construction. "I have never seen such interest taken by workers in a job," he said.

The cost of the church was ₤50 000 of which ₤35 000 had been raised in the preceding three years.

Most of the balance of ₤15 000 represented interest free loans advanced by generous parishioners and well wishers. Many of the fittings in the church were donated by parishioners.

The Parish of West Mackay

The spiritual life of the Parish of St Francis Xavier, West Mackay, began on Sunday, February 2, 1947, when Father (now Dean) Andrew Paul Healion, appointed as Pastor of the new parish, celebrated Mass for the first time, in the church/school which was to be at the heart of Parish life for the next 15 years.

Prior to 1936 the Catholic families scattered throughout the area, bounded roughly by the northern and southern railway lines, attended St Patrick's Church in River Street, most of them walking or cycling to attend Mass, the Sacraments and Devotions.

In 1936 the new Parish of St Mary's, South Mackay, was established and West Mackay (referred to in official Council records as South Ward), was included in the new parish. Father Thomas Byrne (now Monsignor Byrne and living in retirement in Ireland) was the first parish priest.

Most Rev. Andrew Tynan D.D. who had succeeded Romuald Hayes as Bishop of Rockhampton, had undertaken a review of the diocesan parishes and the appointment of his priests - and one outcome was the creation, in January 1947, of a new parish at West Mackay with Father A.P. Healion as Parish Priest.

Although the boundaries of West Mackay have not altered greatly over the years, the number of parishioners has. The school rolls illustrate the growth of the parish. When the first tiny school was opened in 1935, 23 children attended on the first day. By the year's end there were 53 names on the roll, by 1990 there were 353 students, and today the school has an enrollment of over 500 students.

The first school building, which was later shifted over to become the housekeeper's quarters at the presbytery, was built in 1935 but was officially blessed and opened as a church/school on Sunday, February 17, 1936 by the then Bishop of Rockhampton, Most Rev. Romuald Hayes, D.D.

One of the first undertakings by Father Byrne was for the construction of an addition to the first school. Measuring 70ft by 30ft it was built by Ernie Farrelly at a cost of ₤850. That building still forms the core of the present wooden school building facing Bridge Road, having been repaired, renovated and extended on several occasions.

It was used as a church/school until the opening of the new church building in 1962.

The presbytery in Holland Street was erected in 1951 and in 1949, the convent, the first in Australia to be dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, was blessed and opened by the Bishop of Rockhampton, Most Rev. Andrew Tynan D.D. (July 31, 1949).

Two Irish bishops, Archbishop J. Walsh D.D.M.A. of Tuam and Bishop M. Browne D.D.D.C.L. of Galway, had joined Bishop Tynan in the Laying of the foundation stone in the previous year.

The parish's first Planned Giving Program was initiated at a dinner held in the Frendeley Motors Showroom in Nelson Street in 1958. The dinner to launch the second program, was held in 1961 on the school basketball courts, with 700 parishioners attending. On the same day 51 children received their First Communion.

The wonderful parish spirit which existed in those years was exemplified by the overwhelming response to the first Planned Giving Program. On the night of the first visitation report, the program target had been exceeded by ₤1500 and on completion of the program the amount pledged was ₤12 000 in excess of the target. The campaign director said that it was a world record.

In October 1958, the Church of England building and grounds on the opposite corner were purchased at a cost of ₤2500. The building became the Little Flower Infants' School and served in that capacity until 1982. The Little Flower was also used for half of the school year for grade 7 students and teachers in 1988, this was to facilitate a classroom renovation on the main campus. The building has since been demolished.

In 1981 work commenced on the construction of a modern Infants' School in the main school grounds and classes commenced in it on All Saints' Day, November 1, 1982.

Then in 1985, further up-to-date school buildings incorporating a library and staff facilities, were completed.

A new sphere of parish activity was initiated in 1954, with the opening of the St Vincent de Paul Home for the Aged in Dupuy Street.

The initial planning for the home, including the acquisition of suitable land was a project of the Particular Council of the St Vincent de Paul Society, with Father Healion appointed as organiser for the committee which had the responsibility for bringing the work to fruition.

Through the assistance of Charles Crowley, a cane farmer and an original parishioner of West Mackay and a solicitor, Frank Beckey, Father Healion purchased land in Dupuy Street. The committee had already decided to seek an old home for removal as the first step toward the provision of a home and on August 2, 1953 the home of the Vestergaard family, cordial manufacturers of earlier years was moved from Victoria Street to Dupuy Street.

In the meantime Archbishop Gonzi of Malta had arrived in Mackay on a visit to the Maltese community and after seeing what was being done in Dupuy Street, he undertook to obtain an Order of Maltese Sisters to staff the home on the understanding that a brick convent would be built for them.

The first Sisters arrived in Mackay on Sunday, June 6, 1954, driving straight from the airport to the St Francis Xavier Church where Bishop Andrew Tynan welcomed them at Benediction. The foundation stone for their convent was blessed by Bishop Tynan that same afternoon.

The first resident entered the home on September 19, 1954.

The ensuing years have been crowded with improvements and expansions to the Home facilities, culminating in the opening of a modern new block of units early in 1990.

Most of the land on which the parish buildings now stand was purchased by Father (later Monsignor) Joseph Mulcahy in 1928, but since 1947 several adjacent blocks had been purchased to provide additional space, mainly for the school children.

The Parish Hall which has been such a hub of parish life stands on one of them. It was erected in 1985 and extended in April 1988.

When in 1947, Father Healion drove out to survey the land on which he was to build the new parish, he was retracing a journey he made 19 years earlier.

On that occasion, when he was curate at St Patrick's, Father Mulcahy asked him to drive him out to look at a block of land on the corner of Bridge Road and Holland Street which was for sale. Holland Street was then little more than a dirt track and the priests had to leave the car at what is now the Milne Lane corner and walk the rest of the way.

What they saw was a cane paddock but Father Healion said, "It's beautiful."

Father Mulcahy conferred with Charles Bagley, and Peter Punzell, two of his staunch St Patrick's parishioners and advisors and with the brothers, Charles (who had first told him that the land was for sale) and Joe Crowley and then purchased the block for ₤100.

The Patron

St Francis Xavier, the Patron Saint of the Parish of West Mackay, is one of the great missionary saints of the Church. St Francis Xavier was the saint who had approached closest to Australia, his travels having taken him to Amboina in the Moluccas Islands which lie just off the western tip of New Guinea - and that was 200 years before Captain James Cook charted the east coast of Australia.

The choosing of St Francis Xavier as the Parish Patron Saint could almost have been prophetic, for there can be little doubt that the future destiny of Australia will be closely interwoven with the mission fields in which St Francis Xavier preached the Word of God.

The Pastors of the Parish

Father Brian Leahy is the fourth parish priest to be given the care of the parish of St. Francis Xavier. Father Leahy was appointed to the parish in 1984, following the transfer of Dr W. Smith to the Capricorn Coast Parish.

Dr Smith had come to West Mackay in 1974 as successor to Father Michael Dolan who had served as parish priest from 1965 until 1974.

Father (later Dean) Andrew Paul Healion who founded the parish is now one of the senior priests of the Rockhampton Diocese and one of the few to have served five bishops - Joseph Shiel, Romuald Hayes, Andrew Tynan, Francis Rush and Bernard Wallace. Father Healion was ordained at St. Kieran's College, Killkenny, Ireland on June 12, 1927 and arrived in Rockhampton in the same year.

Now 63 years a priest, Father Healion became renowned as a builder and far-sighted man of business as well a zealous priest.

The devotion to faith and to the Church with which he inspired his parishioners still flourishes in the parish.

Father Healion asked much of parishioners but he led them by his own example. His emphasis on the value of family life created a lively spirit within the parish and one of the great rewards of his 18 years in West Mackay was the number of Nuptial Masses he celebrated for the young people.

Father Michael Doyle M.B.E. was another great priest of God. A native of Pulbawn, Mayo, Ireland, Father Dolan was renowned for his heroic service to his fellow prisoners of war in Changi and on the Burma railroad in those dark and desolate years, from February 15, 1942 until the Japanese surrender in August 1945.

Father Dolan studied for the priesthood at the great missionary college of All Hallows Dublin and was ordained in 1925.

Father Dolan who served in many parishes in the diocese had a great love of country life and he was a man's man who also possessed a gentle Irish compassion which reached the hearts of the school children at St. Francis. Father Dolan died in Rockhampton on February 27, 1975.

Dr William Smith, the third parish priest was born in Wexford, Ireland but grew up in Mackay and counts it as his 'home town'.

Dr Smith was educated at St. Mary's Convent, South Mackay and Mt. Carmel College Charters Towers.

He studied in Rome and was ordained at the International College of Progagande Fide when he was only 22 years old.

He later obtained a Doctorate of Divinity and became a Bachelor of Canon Law.

Dr Smith was appointed as a lecturer at the Pope Pius XII Seminary, Banyo in 1946 and was the rector from 1968 until 1973.

Father Brian Leahy who was ordained in Bundaberg by the Bishop, Andrew Tynan, in 1951 was the first priest of the Rockhampton Diocese to volunteer for missionary service in New Guinea and he laboured there for four years.

Earlier in his priesthood he server as a curate at West Mackay and had worked in Biloela, North Mackay, North Rockhampton, Springsure, Finch Hatton and Sarina before being appointed to West Mackay.

The Shillings of the Poor

St. Francis Xavier's Parish is a living example of the sacrifices which the pioneer Catholics of this district were prepared to make for their faith and for the education of their children.

Although it is now often referred to as an 'affluent' parish, it was truly built on the 'shillings of the poor'.

When the parish school was celebrating it's Golden Jubilee, Monsignor T. Byrne, now living in retirement in Ireland, but still remaining close to his old parishioners in spirit, recalled some of the fundraising activities of the early years.

The Friday night dance and euchre party in the old church school was a great fundraiser and Monsignor Byrne wrote that he counted himself lucky if he went home with 15 of 20 pounds. It was hard earned money. The school desks and church seats and kneelers had to be moved (some of them man-handled downstairs), then the floor had to be swept and polished, and on Saturday morning after the dance the hall was scrubbed out and the furniture replaced.