South Perth parish dedicated and consecrated on the feast of Corpus Christi by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB 75 years after it was opened.
It had been a long wait, but St Columba’s South Perth was finally dedicated and consecrated last Sunday, 75 years after it was blessed and opened.
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB joined Parish Priest Monsignor Brian O’Loughlin and long-serving Parish Priest Emeritus Fr Michael Casey, for the occasion.
In his homily, Archbishop Costelloe said the day of the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) was an ideal time to celebrate St Columba’s solemn dedication and consecration:
“We Catholics, I think, have an instinct which is deep within us that the celebration of the Eucharist is at the very heart of our faith; the heart of our church; at the heart of our identity as Catholics,” the Archbishop said.
“So it seems to me there is no better day for us to do what we are doing here in the church tonight … when we remember and celebrate the Lord’s gift of himself to us in the Eucharist and his call to us to give ourselves to others.”
The church had not been dedicated at the time of its opening because protocol dictated that a church could not be dedicated unless it had been paid for.
In a sense, the Archbishop said, the altar had already been consecrated by the many celebrations of the Eucharist that had taken place in the church over the past 75 years.
“We want to ask the Lord that this altar, and this church and this community of faith will still, in the years to come, be a place of blessing and of hope,” the Archbishop said.
“Tonight … there is the opportunity once again to acknowledge that while this church is yours, it is first and foremost the Lord’s church.
“It is our Church because it is the Lord’s Church; because it is Him who draws us into the Church and makes us member of his body – people of faith,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
After the entrance hymn, the Archbishop moved to the baptismal font, blessing the water before walking along each of the church’s walls and down the centre aisle, blessing the building and people as he went.
He recited the prayer of dedication after the Litany of the Saints, which followed the Profession of Faith:
“For today we come before you; to dedicate to your lasting service this house of prayer, this temple of worship, this home in which we are nourished by your word and your sacraments,” the Archbishop said, part of a longer prayer asking God to bless the church as a site for the outpouring of grace.
The Archbishop poured Oil of Chrism on the altar, removing his chasuble and rolling up his sleeves to spread the oil over it with his hands.
Monsignor O’Laughlin and Fr Casey took some of the oil to anoint the church’s walls, marking four places with the Sign of the Cross.
Archbishop Costelloe burnt incense on the altar before incensing it with a thurible: “Lord, may our prayer ascend as incense in your sight. As this building is filled with the fragrance so may your Church fill the world with the fragrance of Christ,” he prayed.
Acolytes then wiped down the altar before two parishioners dressed it with an altar cloth, candles and flowers.
Lighting of the altar followed as the altar candles and festive candles marking the places where the walls were anointed were lit and, in the latter’s case, lifted into place.
Earlier in the evening, Archbishop Costelloe blessed a paten donated to the church by St Columba’s Catholic Primary School.
After Mass, the community made its way to the school’s undercover area for food and drink prepared by the Parents and Friends Association and the cutting of a cake, made especially for the occasion.
A display of church artifacts from throughout the parish’s history was held in the hall.