Re-interment of Archbishop Clune a step closer

26 Mar 2013

By Matthew Biddle

Photograph of Archbishop Clune. PHOTO: Taken from ‘The History of the Catholic Church in Western Australia’, by D.F. Bourke.

The bodies of the eight deceased Bishops or Archbishops of Perth may all be interred together for the first time in the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral by the end of this year.

The process of moving the body of the only leader of the Perth Archdiocese who is not yet buried in the crypt, Archbishop Patrick Clune CSsR, is under way.

The body of Archbishop Clune has been buried at Karrakatta Cemetery since his death in 1935.

Since 2011, the Redemptorists – the Order to which Archbishop Clune belonged – have been considering the exhumation and re-interment of the body, only recently giving the project their blessing.

A relative of the first Archbishop of Perth, Paul Clune, said the negotiations had taken several months.

“I began the process halfway through last year, and then it took until December for the final document to be signed off and delivered,” he said.

“The approval was given at a conference meeting on the east coast by the seniors of the Order.”

A place was set for Archbishop Clune in the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral, which is under the sanctuary, when it was constructed in 2007.

“Up until I got it set with the Order, it was all abandoned, the people had just let go of the idea,” Mr Clune said.

Last week, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB signed a statutory declaration that will be delivered to the State Minister for Heritage for approval.

Once approved, the process of exhumation and re-interment will begin. Mr Clune said he expects the exhumation and re-interment to be completed by September this year.

In 2006, Bishops Martin Griver and Matthew Gibney were exhumed and re-intered in the crypt.

Three years later, Archbishops Redmond Prendiville, Launcelot Goody and William Foley joined them, before the first Bishop of Perth, John Brady, was re-interred in August 2011.