SPEECH ON:
- THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST CHRISTOPHER'S PARISH
AND
- THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST CHRISTOPHER'S CHURCH
On behalf of the people of St Christopher’s Parish in Airport West, I would like to thank your Grace Archbishop Peter Comensoli for kindly coming to celebrate and share our joy on the 60th Anniversary of our Parish and the 50th Anniversary of our Church. Your presence is really a privilege for our parish.
I would also like to thank you Monsignor Franco Cavarra, former Parish Priest of St. Christopher’s Parish and Fr. Dom Degiorgio for your presence.
Also welcome to Father Denis Stanley, Rector of Corpus Christi’s Seminary. As a past student of St Christopher’s School, you have come back to pay us a visit. Your presence here today is an inspiration, encouragement, and good example for our students and young men to follow your footstep into the Vocation to the Priesthood.
And welcome you, the Hon. Ben Carroll, MP for Niddrie. You are also a past student of St Christopher’s School. Thanks also to our Mayor, Councillor Samantha Byrne, and Councillor John Sipek from the Moonee Valley Council; and also all our friends who have come here from our neighboring parishes.
A special welcome of course to the parishioners of St Christopher’s and St Augustine’s Parish, to the Principals, the Staff, Parents and Students of St Christopher’s Primary School, St Augustine’s Primary School, the Catholic Regional College, North Keilor and the Sacramental Program Classes. After all, it is the parishioners who make-up the parish. It is said that someone passed a comment about parishioners to Cardinal Newman, a great figure in the Church of the 19th century. They said: "Who are the laity anyway?" Cardinal Newman replied "Well, the Church would look empty without them!" Indeed it would.
The nature of this celebration today is to thank and praise God for all the work he has done at St Christopher’s and St Augustine’s Parish. It is also to express gratitude for the clergy and parishioners who have formed this parish and built this church. The celebration is also about the people who belong to and attend St. Christopher’s Church. Over past years, these parishioners have been faithful to God and to their Catholic Faith. This has been an on-going reminder of the important role that the men and women of the laity, have exercised and continue to exercise in the life of the Church.
Your Grace Archbishop Peter. In front of you today, and in the presence of our parishioners, members of the communities of two Schools, a Catholic Regional College, and the Sacramental Program Classes with their parents, it is hoped that this celebration will open up new horizons of aspiration and hopes for our parish in taking up the Way of the Gospel.
In the communities of our two Schools, a College, and the Sacramental Program, children play an important role in the development of human and Christian relationships and formation. Therefore there is a constant and strong emphasis here on Faith, Religious Education, and the Sacraments. However, without strong Family-School-Parish collaboration, these children will be deprived of the range of fundamental experiences that are needed for their development in the faith.
Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a sign of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and His Church.
A major aim of our parish, therefore, has been to focus on this Family-School-Parish relationship. In this way, we hope to form One Big Family that is connected in Unity and Faith, Love and Collaboration. In doing this, we hope to develop and fulfill the MISSION of the Gospel.
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus,
This special Celebration would be missing something if the choirs were not here this morning. Therefore I would like to thank the St. Christopher’s Choir, the St. Augustine’s Choir, and particularly the Tongan Catholic Choir which I welcomed into the Our Lady’s Parish when I was in Sunshine. It is great to have you here today. Thank you.
Finally, in order to welcome Your Grace Archbishop Peter to our parish for the 1st time, we have a little token of gratitude and appreciation. I invite the President of the Parish Council, Mr. Michael, to come up and offer it to the Archbishop.
After Mass, Your Grace Archbishop Peter, our Special Guests and everyone here are invited to go to the School Hall for some refreshments.
Thank you and God bless you all.
Father Peter Hoang
St Christopher’s and St. Augustine’s Parish
Airport West and Keilor Park.
24th of July 2022
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