St Anthony’s Greenmount Parish celebrates jubilee anniversary, honours leadership of Salvatorian Fathers
The belated jubilee celebration of Greenmount parish began with a 11am Mass on Sunday, 27 June, followed by lunch and fellowship at the parish. Mass was celebrated by Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton. Photos: Amanda Murthy.
By Amanda Murthy
It was a celebration of thanksgiving and love at Saint Anthony Church Greenmount, as the parish community came together to celebrate 60 years since the blessing and dedication of their Greenmount Parish on 5 February 1966, led by the Salvatorian Fathers, who began their pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Perth that same year.
Present for the 11am Mass was Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, joined by concelebrants Geraldton Emeritus Bishop Justin Bianchini, Regional Superior of the Salvatorian Fathers in Australia Father George Kolodziej SDS, Greenmount Parish Priest Fr Leonard Macionczyk SDS, and several Salvatorian priests.
Former parish priests, as well as the St Anthony Primary School community, and guests made up the rest of the congregation present.
Acknowledging the rich history of the parish, Bishop Sproxton spoke about the importance of good leadership, which the parish was fortunate to receive from all its’ leaders.
“I know that the parish of Greenmount is very grateful for the priests who have served here and at the original site at Bellevue; the Polish Salvatorians generously agreed to take over the mission in Perth and Esperance from the Irish-English Province and have been welcomed by those communities,” Bishop Don highlighted.
“Their leadership has been supported by Parish Pastoral Councils, the schools and other leaders in all of the parishes in which they serve.”
Reflecting on the Scripture readings for the day, Bishop Don offered his prayers that all in the Greenmount community will be inspired by the very words and actions of Jesus, as well as the faith lived out by the Salvatorians, whose mission has been to “bring the Good News of Jesus, to be transformed by this faith, and to serve because of this faith.”
“Greenmount parish has become known as a strong community. It has a strong sense of unity and purpose. Parishes are communities of disciples of the Lord who are pilgrims walking towards their homeland,” Bishop Don said.
Greenmount Parish Priest Father Leonard Macionczyk SDS cuts the diamond jubilee anniversary cake. Fr Macionczyk also presents his fellow brother priests with a bottle of ‘anniversary wine’ on 27 June. Photo: Amanda Murthy.
“Your parish looks to the needs of those within the community of faith and beyond to those seeking their own sense of meaning, especially to those on the edges of society. Very often when we go to those on the peripheries of society, as Pope Francis reminds us, this is where we will meet Jesus in the poor and vulnerable.
“May St Anthony’s in Greenmount be known for its compassion and care, and for its sense of mission to proclaim Jesus the Son of God and Saviour of the world,” he concluded.
At the conclusion of Mass, parishioners headed to the back of the church for fellowship over a scrumptious canape-style lunch, served by the younger parishioners. Raffles, thank-you speeches, followed by the main-event cake-cutting ceremony, which prompted those present to break-out in a ‘happy birthday’ song to their beloved parish.
Several tribute photo walls were set up along the celebration area, in conjunction with Greenmount parish jubilee celebrations, held on 27 June. Photo: Amanda Murthy.
“We thank God for His providence to be able to celebrate this Eucharist as a community and pray for His continuous mercy and blessings on us all,” said Fr Macionczyk.