Archbishop Clune joins fellow bishops in crypt

11 Sep 2013

By Matthew Biddle

A large number of Archdiocesan priests were present for the reinterment Vigil and Mass, including several Redemptorist priests. PHOTO: David Nicolson

The remains of all seven deceased Bishops and Archbishops of Perth are now in the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral.

About 250 people gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral on September 3 for a Mass celebrating the reinterment of the remains of the first Archbishop of Perth, Patrick Joseph Clune CSsR.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB celebrated the Mass, with the help of Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey and Bishop Donald Sproxton.

They were joined by Fr Edmond Nixon CSsR, the Vicar-General Fr Peter Whitely and Fr Christopher Dowd, the official Clune biographer.

Several members of the Clune family and members of the Redemptorist Order were also in attendance.

At the commencement of the Mass, the ossuary containing Archbishop Clune’s remains was carried to the altar in procession.

Two pipers from Trinity College, Peter Fitzgerald and Ben Walsh, led the procession, and more than 50 priests of the Archdiocese of Perth followed.

Archbishop Costelloe, who was using Archbishop Clune’s crozier, thanked the Redemptorists for honouring the request of the Clune family to have their ancestor’s body exhumed and reinterred.

“For the Clune family, for the Redemptorist family and for the Archdiocesan family, this is a very special occasion,” he said.

During his homily, the Archbishop explained the significance of the decision to move Archbishop Clune’s remains from the Redemptorist site to the Cathedral crypt.

It was particularly fitting, he said, that the reinterment occur just a few days after the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Perth as an Archdiocese, as it was Archbishop Clune who was largely responsible for prompting Rome to make the decision back in 1913.

The Irish-born Archbishop also laid the foundation stone for St Mary’s Cathedral in 1926.

Archbishop Costelloe told the congregation his predecessor was remembered for being a “happy man”.

“He was warm, welcoming, affable and approachable,” he said.

“His impact on the life of the Archdiocese of Perth in the 25 years of his episcopate is remarkable.

“He was, as the Redemptorist Constitutions express it, a man who was “strong in faith, rejoicing in hope, burning with charity, on fire with zeal, humble in heart and persevering in prayer”.”

Prior to the Mass, the ossuary containing Archbishop Clune’s remains was displayed in St John’s Pro-Cathedral.

It was the first time the Pro-Cathedral has opened its doors to the public since it was closed for renovations in October 2012.

The body of Archbishop Clune has been buried at the Karrakatta cemetery alongside his fellow Redemptorists since his death in 1935.

In December 2012 the North Perth Redemptorists gave their approval for the exhumation and reinterment.

Archbishop Clune now joins Bishops John Brady, Martin Griver and Matthew Gibney, as well as Archbishops Redmond Prendiville, Launcelot Goody and William Foley in the Cathedral crypt.