- The First Years
- Church Building
- Personal Recollections
- Groups and Ministries
- Spiritual
- Parish Administration
- Parish School
Overview - Parish Origins and Growth
The famous “Y Plan” of the then National Capital Development Commission envisioned the development of Canberra through towns, based on town centres in Woden-Weston Creek, Belconnen and Tuggeranong, and later Gungahlin.
Planning for the “town” of Tuggeranong began in 1969 with the first suburb, Kambah, being developed in 1973. The first families moved into Kambah in 1974 and Kambah parish was established in the same year with Fr Bill Kennedy as the first parish priest.
St Anthony of Padua parish was established in 1976 with Father Gerry Monaghan as the first parish priest.
The first Mass in the parish was celebrated by Archbishop T. V. Cahill on 18 Sep 1976.
It was held in the Parish house at 13 Mackinnon Street, opposite the driveway to the basketball courts, or parking area for parishioners, adjacent to Mackillop College. (The house has now been demolished and replaced by two houses as a dual occupancy block.)
The first baptism in the parish was Christopher Mark Reid(20 Oct 1977). The first wedding was between Peter Lane and Anna Quitiriano (23 Feb 1977).
Mass was first celebrated in the hall of Wanniassa Primary School and then in the hall of Padua High School (now St Mary Mackillop College) after it opened in early 1977.
St Anthony’s Parish Primary School began in 1978 in the buildings of Padua Catholic High School and as numbers grew in an annexe at Erindale College.The school itself was developed and built on its current site in Wheeler Crescent with classes starting there in mid-1982. The school was officially opened and blessed on 7 May 1983.
Holy Family Parish in Gowrie was established in 1984, and St Anthony’s parish boundaries were re-established (Wanniassa, Oxley and South-east Kambah). The boundaries were further extended to include Monash in 2005.
Father Monaghan finished his six-year term as parish priest in September 1982. For more detail of the early years of the parish, see Appendix A.
The parish’s second Parish Priest, Father Peter Quirk was a warm and outgoing pastor with extraordinary energy and drive and with a remarkable gift for remembering faces and names.
He was shaped by his early experience, leaving school at 16 to work for a number of years at the Tumut Dairy Cooperative before going back to school in his mid-20’s to gain his leaving Certificate and to undertake preliminary studies in Latin as a prelude to studying for the priesthood.
Before his appointment to Wanniassa, Father Quirk had served as assistant priest in a number of parishes and as pastor at Jindabyne for five years, where he became an enthusiastic skier and canoeist and an advocate generally for the region. As chaplain to Young Christian Workers groups in the mid to late 60’s, he was well known to the youth of Canberra especially the hostel dwellers who were a marked feature of the population of early Canberra. Before becoming a priest, he was a renowned rugby league footballer, a swift winger, representing Tumut and Gundagai clubs, playing in the Maher Cup competition and gaining selection in the Riverina side.
He brought this experience to his ministry at Wanniassa, including his love of football, with a great sense of the challenges facing people living their faith in the real world. Part of his legacy is the parish church, reflecting his vision of the church as a light to the wider world and as the centre of the life of the community.
Father Quirk served until cancer of the lung forced his resignation on 26 May 1996. Father Peter Cronin had been appointed parish administrator in April 1994 as Father Quirk’s illness progressed.
Father Cronin was appointed as parish priest in August 1997. Father Cronin was the first of two parish priests at St Anthony’s who were widowers– the second being Father Lachlan Coll.
Priests who have served the parish subsequently are:
- Father Mietek Markowicz Jul 2003 - Jul 2008;
- Father Lachlan Coll Jul 2008 - Aug 2019;
- Father Tony Percy Sep 2019 - Jan 2023;
- Father Tom Thornton Jan 2023 - Jan 2025
- Father Leonse Kurian Jan 2025 - Apr 2026;
- Father John Armstrong installed as parish priest in April 2026.
Overview - Parish Church
In 1984, the Parish Council and Father Quirk examined the feasibility of building a permanent Parish Church. The present site above Padua High School was approved at a parish meeting in April 1985, after the site originally proposed, next to St Anthony's Primary School in Wheeler Crescent, was found to be unsuitable. A design for the Church was accepted by another parish meeting in early 1986.
The site for the parish church was blessed on Sunday 16 June 1985 by Bishop Morgan. Building began on 6 July 1986 with Bishop Morgan turning the first sod.
The church was dedicated by Archbishop Francis Carroll on 31 May 1987. A huge crowd attended the ceremony, filling the church and spilling out on to the church driveway and nearby footpath.
The first baptism in the church was David McGinness on Sunday 1 June 1987 and the first marriage between Christopher Donaghue and Kim McKay on 12 September 1987.
The building has retained its original structure over the years. Under the guidance of Father Tony in 2021 the external colour theme was changed to blue - a striking appearance to this day.
There are many beautiful internal elements to the building. To find out more about the building and the internal design, refer to Appendix B.
Appendix A: The First Years
In 1976 Archbishop Thomas Cahill commissioned Father Gerry Monaghan to establish a new parish in Wanniassa. The year before, Father Bill Kennedy established a parish, St. Thomas the Apostle, at Kambah.
A house was purchased for $42,000 at 13 Mackinnon Street Wanniassa (the house is now demolished but the site is immediately opposite the entrance to Mother Mackillop High School car park) as a presbytery and from the start it was known as the Parish House.
Daily Mass and reconciliation were conducted in the Parish House. On the weekend, the vigil mass was celebrated in the lounge room of the Parish House and, on Sunday Masses were at 8.00am in the Wanniassa Primary School and at 9.30 am at the Sacred Heart Church, Tuggeranong (now Calwell). The first Sunday Mass was celebrated on 3 October 1976.
The first baptism, Suzanne Julia Elekessa, daughter of Philippe and Maria of Burrowes Place was celebrated during the Sunday Mass on 31 October 1976.
The first Easter vigil, in 1977 was conducted at the Parish House with about 25 people in attendance. Fr Gerry recalls lighting the Paschal fire in a fireplace in the back yard and beginning the ceremony. As he began the sign of the cross, a neighbour, oblivious to what was going on, called over the fence, “enjoy your barbecue!”
The first year of the parish was dogged with financial problems. The population (180 Catholic families) was simply insufficient to support a parish. In addition, most people in the new suburbs were financially stretched. Housing loan interest rates had risen to 12% p.a meaning the average household was paying more than one third of its ‘take home pay’ on the mortgage. (by 1982, the mortgage rate was to rise to 17%). 1976 was the year of the highest birth rate in Australia’s history.
Most of the newcomers to Wanniassa were single income earners with young families. The nickname ‘Nappy Valley’ was obviously applicable.
On 19 June 1977, the parish accountant, John Lewis, presented a financial statement and budget which showed an estimated income of $8,000; some $3,600 short of the projected expenditure. Expenditure items were mainly $4,000 per year interest on the parish house and $2,760 to the Catholic Church School Building Fund with the remainder for rates, electricity, hire of the (Government) school hall, altar and presbytery requisites. Parish funds were supplemented by parishioners running steak sandwich and sweets stalls. At the Tuggeranong Fair in 1977, the parishioners raised $800, which paid dues to the Catholic Church School Building Fund of $811. (The financial statement for the year ending 30 June 1982 showed an income of $81,728 and expenditure of $73,994 including an extension to the parish house costing $16,800.)
Late in 1977 the school building Padua Catholic College (now known as McKillop Catholic College) was completed and handed over. On Sunday 11 December 1977 the last mass was said at the Wanniassa Primary School and, on Saturday 17 December 1977 a new era began with an “opening and confirmation Mass at Padua".
From 1 January 1978, the section of Kambah bounded by Drakeford Drive, Sulwood Drive and the nature strips backing Severne Crescent became part of St. Anthony’s parish.
With the increased population and, one presumes, the savings on rent, the parish managed a surplus $2,000 in 1978 which was promptly donated to various overseas and local charities.
In the meanwhile, the parish coped with its share of the social problems.
The marriage breakdown rate in Australia was approaching 33% of marriages and the parishioner population was not exempt. Financial problems caused by the rising mortgage rates presumably aggravated interpersonal problem for families.
The pro-abortion lobby was gaining strength. A bill to legalise abortion was defeated in 1980 but eventually abortion became legal in every state.
Above all, the parish was urged to pray. A chapel was established in one room of the parish house and the front door was always left unlocked. Parishioners were urged to ‘make a visit’ at any time of the day or night whether Fr. Monaghan was in attendance or not. By the second week of the parish’s life, the formation of a prayer group had begun. Devotion to our Lady became a cornerstone of the parish prayer life.
From 1977 to 1980, Padua Catholic College was both primary and secondary under the principal Paul Butz. Finally, in 1981, Mrs. Joy Bresser was appointed a very popular principal of St. Anthony’s Primary School at its present location.
All that was missing was a church (building). The archbishop was urging Fr. Monaghan to ‘sensitize the people’ to the need to build a church’. Fr. Monaghan was not enthusiastic; he was concerned that savings for a church building would jeopardise a project close to his heart, the giving of 10% of the parish income to local and overseas charities. He also had a fundamental belief that God has ‘pitched his tent amongst us’ and neither God nor the parish needed a permanent building. But he recognised that church building in a Canberra parish was inevitable and began preliminary moves. In 1982 the parish received Fr Monaghan’s Farewell Message. The task of building the church passed to Father Quirk.
Appendix B: Church Building
Leigh Palmer recounts his story of the planning of St Anthony's Church....
At this point Mario asked me to replace him on the Building Committee. The church was now to be built on part of the Padua High School block. Building Committee members included Father Quirk, Brian Robinson, Noel Levings, Merv Willoughby- Thomas, Mark Morrissey and Colin Lane.
We had many late night meetings (probably 18 months of weekly meetings) to determine whether we would have kneelers or not have kneelers, whether they would be padded or not, whether the floor would be flat or sloped and many other questions, on which opinions were often very strongly held by one or more of the players. It was not uncommon to be still thrashing it out at 1:30am. During these 2 years, my wife Vivien was often heard to comment that she wasn't sure if her husband had joined the priesthood or Father was another male to have around the household, because of the hours and hours Father would spend at our house. It was about this time that I discovered that Fr Quirk was a night owl and could arrange his day to sleep in the following morning.We visited a number of churches across the ACT and NSW obtaining good ideas and bad ideas. We even looked at other denominations. We interviewed Priests, parishioners and church buffs. Eventually we settled on a brief for an Architect. An important criterion was that the committee wanted our building of worship to look like a church to the wider community. Ten years on, I believe our church is recognised in that way by the Wanniassa community.
An exhaustive search for an Architect led us to Dennis Leech who had designed St Thomas the Apostle at Kambah. Dennis lived at Palm Beach in Sydney and this ultimately put some constraints on us. However Dennis was full of enthusiasm and had many good ideas for the creation of the space we desired.
During this process I discovered just how many decisions one has to make in a project such as this and how many different views were held over those issues. We eventually produced plans and went to tender thinking it would cost about $500-600,000. Griffith Building Group was the successful tenderer but the cost was going to be about $770,000 and that didn't include the Presbytery!
Our church is indeed testimony to Father Quirk's absolute hard work and his dream. His incredible commitment to the 2 years plus it took on this project is his legacy to us.
At times it was difficult to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer questions, pose questions, discuss the pros and cons of a decision etc, but Father seemed to never tire with the process, rather the project seemed to energise him from within. Perhaps it was a supernatural drive that empowered Father to keep up the pace and drive to achieve excellence in design and building of our church."
Design elements
The church was designed to proclaim its presence in the wider community. On its elevated site and with its distinctive bell-tower, St Anthony's Church evokes the traditional Australian church on the hill.
The statue of the Patron Saint of Our Parish, St Anthony of Padua, is a prominent feature in the entrance area of the Church. The statue is cast in fibreglass by Mr Joseph Giansiracusa in Melbourne from a unique mould designed especially for our Parish. It incorporates all the traditional symbols associated with St Anthony, such as the Christ Child, the lily and the Book of the Gospels. Rather than holding the Child Jesus, the statue shows St Anthony receiving Jesus. This symbolises Jesus coming to the people of the Parish, represented by St Anthony.
The Church is uncluttered and draws people's attention to the sacramental areas. Large areas of glass and the high ceilings allow light to fill the Church.
The booklet for the Dedication ceremony noted many of the concepts and elements used in the design of the Church. Of particular note was the feature that catches one's eye immediately upon entering the Church, ie the glass Cross above the sacramental area of the Church.
Dominating the sacramental area of the Church is an ethereal Cross in glass set in the wall above the altar. Symbolic glass droplets of blood and water fall from the side of the Cross representing spiritual food and drink for the world, coming through the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Our Lord in the Eucharist.
A number of sacred places are incorporated within the Church and outside in its immediate surrounds, including Our Lady's Shrine, the Baptistery and the Resurrection Garden below the Baptistery window.
Many objects and items within the Church which were originally part of other Churches and provide tangible links with other parts of the Archdiocesan Church. The tabernacle and the statue of the Risen Christ in the Resurrection Garden are from the Marymead Chapel.
The bell is from the old St Columbkille's Church at Jindabyne. Father Quirk was the Parish Priest at Jindabyne before coming to St Anthony's. A link with the past of the Parish is in the iron work Calvary motif beside the Statue of the Risen Christ in the Resurrection Garden, which came from the mobile altar used to celebrate Mass in the Padua theatre.
The granite pieces from which the baptismal font, the altar, lectern and tabernacle stand are made are off cuts from the granite used in the new Parliament House, which opened one year after the Church.
One anecdote about the building of the Church recounts how a group of parishioners waited one weekday for Father Quirk to arrive at the old presbytery to celebrate Mass. The time for Mass came and went without Father arriving. As it turned out, Father Quirk had gone to the Parliament House construction site to inspect the granite off cuts and had become lost and then locked in.
The statue of Our Lady, holding the Infant Jesus, was carved by Mr Engelbert Piccolruaz from Sydney. The Dedication booklet notes that the statue "...is a Madonna and Child in modern style, slightly slimmer than usual and reflecting the tenderness of Mary and the Child Jesus."
Later Additions
Mr Engelbert Piccolruaz also carved the large wooden crucifix that was installed under the guidance of Father Mietek. Parishioners Martin and Patrick were charged with transporting the cross and corpus from Sydney to Canberra, a challenging task in itself.
The stained glass window behind the Baptistery was installed during Father Lachlan's time. It depicts the baptism of Jesus at the river Jordan.
The candle-holder for the Paschal candle is a depiction of Mary of Magdala and Mary, wife of Clopas at the foot of the cross.
It was commissioned by Laurie and Edna Thiele and made in Sydney in 1981. It was gifted to their local parish of All Saints, South Broken Hill in 1981 by Laurie and Edna in memory of their son Anthony Gerard Thiele who died in a motor vehicle accident on 21 Feb 1981, aged 18 years. Anthony was named after St Anthony of Padua and St Gerard Majella.
The candle holder was in All Saints church Broken Hill until that parish closed in the early 2000s. It was returned to Laurie and Edna who by this stage had moved to Wagga Wagga. It was then gifted to and used at the Gurwood Street Chapel in Wagga for many years until that also was closed.
In 2022, Father, (now Bishop), Tony Percy (who is also Anthony Gerard) was more than pleased to accept the gift of the Paschal Candle holder for the church and parish from the Thiele family. The family believe that it is very fitting that the candle holder made in Anthony’s memory over forty years ago has now found its home in the parish of St Anthony of Padua, Wanniassa.
The painting of Joseph and the Boy Jesus by parishioner Daniel De Valentin was installed in 2021.
Dedication
The long-awaited day eventually dawned on a foggy Sunday 31 May 1987. The Dedication ceremony began with a solemn procession tied by Archbishop Carroll, from Padua, around the Church to the front doors. The keys to the Church were presented to Father Quirk who ceremonially unlocked the front doors and opened the Church.
The Archbishop and the official party then wound its way through the Church to the altar, through a crowd covering every bit of floor space and spilling out of the Church on to the driveway.
Father Mick Burke, Father Barney Lynch and Mons Favier also concelebrated Mass and Father Justin Barwick assisted.
The Dedication of St Anthony's Church was the end of a long and sometimes arduous process of planning, design and construction. But it was the beginning of a new stage in the life of our Parish community. We now have a clear physical focus and centre to our Parish life and the Church proclaims the presence of our faith community to everyone.
A new presbytery was built in 1989-90, immediately adjoining the Church.
Appendix C: Personal Recollections
Linda Ness
My husband and I moved to Wanniassa in May 1976. We had no kids then. We lived in Wanniassa for 13 years. My husband is a non-Catholic. I am a Catholic by birth coming from the Philippines, which is predominantly a Catholic country.
I can remember when Father Gerry Monaghan said the first Mass in the Wanniassa Primary School at the Library located at Sternberg Crescent in Sept. 1976. I think there were 12 of us. I remember Mr and Mrs Matsay. And Mr and Mrs Le Mieux. They lived in Sternberg Crescent near the school and came from Canada. Tom and Elizabeth, and her mother from Ireland, who still lived in Wanniassa. My friends Ann and Bob Perkins have been at St Anthony's for many years. I also can remember when Father Monaghan was a very busy priest establishing a new parish where he has no time to cook for himself. So the Parish people put up a list called "Feed Father." Parishioners could invite him to eat with them. He thought this would be very quick and very basic. Parishioners thought otherwise. They got out the best china etc and expected to make a celebration of Father's visit to their houses. Fr Gerry recalled those events during a Lenten series he gave in the Carina (Queensland) church.
I have 2 children now. Alex is 23 and Bettina is 20 years old. Both of them were baptised by Father Monaghan.. Alex was baptised at the old presbytery, this was the white house across the road from Padua High School. Bettina was baptised at the chapel at Padua High school. I could still remember when I used to take my mother-in-law to church and since then she has been a good friend to Father Monaghan.
Although we now live at Bonython I still go to St Anthony Parish because I already feel touched with the people and the Parish. I think that the birthday cake and candle for the children's Christmas Mass started with Fr Gerry way back in 1976. Christmas 1976 or 1977 was sad for him, as he had to conduct the funeral of a small boy - Jason - who drowned in his parents' swimming pool.
On several Good Fridays Fr Gerry led an ecumenical Way of the Cross from Padua High School to Erindale Drive and then across the bridge to the hill in Monash. There were stops for hymns and meditations along the way and of course Monash did not then exist as a suburb. On Easter morning the cross was carried back to Padua and decorated with ivy for the celebration of the Resurrection.
Mark Taylor - Recollections of Fr Peter Quirk
Father Quirk's love of Rugby League football was of epic proportions. He played it as a boy and young man in Tumut and followed it passionately all his life.
On one Sunday, when the Raiders were playing in the Grand Final, he announced just before leaving the altar at the end of Mass, that every Catholic priest in Australia was wearing green vestments in support of the Raiders.
On another Sunday, he asked us to pray for our brothers and sisters in the Anglican community, who were officially opening their new church (St Matthew's) at 2pm that afternoon. He then grinned, in the quiet way he had, and said "When I was in the seminary we did a lot of study of comparative religion, but I think our lecturers missed the most fundamental difference between the Catholic and Anglican faiths - that is, that no Catholic priest would schedule any official function for 2pm on Grand Final day!"
Roslyn Hull
We arrived in the parish in 2000 and have always felt welcomed. Friends my daughters made in the Antioch group are still part of their lives now. Both Jess and Lilli were altar servers and it was when they started that, that I decided to assist with the Saturday night music group.
I hadn’t played my guitar in many years but I thought I could lend my voice. Faye Noonan and Mike and June McGurgan were so positive and joyful, it was a pleasure to stand with them. After a few weeks of squinting at Mike and June, realising I knew them from somewhere but not recalling where, it dawned on me. Mike taught me guitar when I was in high school and taught my triplet brothers at Daramalan. When I said this to Mike, he replied: ‘No, the Binns boys’ sister had long, dark ha-air…’ and we laughed out loud. My hair has been grey since my thirties. Mike and June became extra aunty and uncle to our girls and part of family celebrations. Mike got me interested in percussion and I have beaten my bodhrán (Irish drum) at Mass on Saturday nights ever since. And Chris Tran joined us when he was in Year 5!!
I do have more memories of the parish but I’m sure everyone does. I am Aboriginal (am I the only one?) and I challenged Father Tony on a comment he made one Australia Day, which led to a lively, but considered, discussion. Every one of Father Tom’s sermons was worth listening closely to and Father Peter, a grandfather himself, always made a point of checking how our girls were going at school - they attended St Mary MacKillop. Father Mietek was a wonderful man - I remember him opening his arms wide when Lilli returned to Mass after a very serious operation. His face was split in an exultant grin and, as he hugged her, he kept saying ‘God is good, God is good.'
I love the sense of community in the parish but the thing that moves me is when I am rostered on for reading. I look out at the congregation and I see people who believe, who are sincere in trying to live good lives. I see a community of faith and it never fails to move me.
Brian Kensey A Journey of Belonging, Co-incidence and Gratitude
I have lived in Wanniassa since 1977. Initially I continued to attend Mass at the Cathedral.
In 1978, I started going out with my future wife, Deborah. Co-incidentally, her family moved to Wanniassa soon after. Around then, I gradually started to attend Mass at St Anthony’s. Deb wasn’t a Catholic at the time but was received into the faith by Fr Gerry a few weeks before our wedding in the then Padua school auditorium on 20 September 1980. We are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Parish on 20 September 2026. (Coincidence 1)
Our second parish priest Fr Peter Quirk died on our 16th wedding anniversary (20 September 1996). (Coincidence 2)
Our fourth parish priest Fr Mietek Markowicz died on our
30th wedding anniversary
(20 September 2010). (Coincidence 3)
Deb died on 31 May 2021, the 34th anniversary of the dedication of our church. (Coincidence 4)
Deb was received into the faith in the parish. We were married in the parish. Our three children received the sacraments here. We renewed our wedding vows in our church on our 25th and 40th wedding anniversaries. Deb’s funeral Mass was celebrated in our church.
These are just a few of the many reasons I feel so much a part of St Anthony’s parish.
With so much Love and Gratitude, Brian Kensey.
Amalarani A Christmas I Will Always Remember
My name is Amalarani, and I live in India. Although I have never been a permanent parishioner of St Anthony’s, Wanniassa, the parish holds a very special place in my heart because of an unforgettable Christmas I spent there in December 2019.
I travelled to Canberra to visit my elder sister Anita, her husband Alex, and their two young daughters, Asmi and Avelyn, who were parishioners of St Anthony’s. I came especially to be with my godchild and niece, Asmi, for her birthday and extended my stay to celebrate Christmas with my sister’s family.
That December remains vivid in my memory. Australia was experiencing the devastating 2019–20 bushfire season, and Canberra was frequently blanketed in smoke. I remember walking to St Anthony’s for Mass and sometimes finding even the church hazy with smoke. At night, looking towards the Brindabella ranges, we could see the distant glow of bushfires against the dark sky. As a visitor to Australia, it was both frightening and deeply moving. Yet amid the smoke and uncertainty, St Anthony’s became for me a place of faith, friendship, music and hope.
I attended Mass very regularly during my stay, often walking to the church. One particularly endearing memory is of a visiting supply priest who came to celebrate Mass accompanied by his little dog. He kindly asked me to hold the dog’s leash during Mass. I affectionately remember him as the little “holy dog” because he remained so peaceful and attentive throughout the celebration, almost as though he too understood that he belonged there!
My sister encouraged me to join the parish choir during December. I was warmly welcomed and formed wonderful friendships. Mary Milano, the choir director, became a dear friend, and I also fondly remember Faye, Kevin, Jane, Catherine, Doreen, Father Tony, Brother Barry and Mr Martin. Singing and preparing together for Christmas gave me a beautiful sense of belonging, despite being so far from home.
One of my most treasured memories, however, came through the veena, the traditional Indian stringed instrument my sister had at home. During December, through self-practice, I learnt to play several Christmas carols. On Christmas Eve 2019, I was given the wonderful opportunity to play those carols on the veena as the welcoming instrumental music before the Christmas Eve Mass. That moment has never left me. The church was peaceful, Canberra was smoky, and beyond us the bushfire season continued. Yet inside St Anthony’s, we were preparing with joy and hope to welcome Baby Jesus. Sitting there with the veena and playing familiar Christmas melodies on an ancient Indian instrument felt extraordinarily special—a little meeting of my Indian heritage, my Catholic faith and the beautiful community that had welcomed me in Australia.
I may have belonged to your parish community for only a short season, but the friendships, faith and memories I found there have remained with me. Thank you, St Anthony’s, for giving a visitor from India a little place to call home that Christmas. May God bless your parish and its people for the next fifty years and beyond.
With love, gratitude and prayers from India, Amalarani.Appendix D: Groups and Ministries
Ministries at Mass
Acolytes
Acolytes provide assistance to the priest at the
various liturgies.
St Anthony’s has about a dozen acolytes at any given time. Their activities range from preparing the
church for Mass each Sunday to distributing communion. They try to ensure that liturgies are
properly prepared and organised so that the priest is free to concentrate on
ministering to the people. The acolytes
are a dedicated group who have rarely missed any of the Sunday Masses or
liturgies since the parish was first established.
In June 1996 Bishop Pat Power visited the Parish to commission new acolytes
(Chris Rule, Brian Kensey, Neil Dwyer, Perry McKerihan, Kevin Croker, Wayne
Cassidy and Bruce Ryan) and Special Ministers to serve the parish community.
Special Ministers
Special Ministers of the Eucharist serve the community in a special way
by distributing Holy Communion at Mass and by taking the Eucharist to the sick
of the Parish.
Lectors
The lectors proclaim the Word of God at each of the Sunday Masses. A large roster presents members of the
community to share in this important ministry of witness.
Altar Servers
The altar servers are boys and girls who have made their first communion
and assist at the altar during Mass and other liturgical celebrations.
Choir(s)/Music Ministry
Lorraine Keen - first organist at St Anthony of Padua:
We continued on for some time like this while the Assembly Hall, Theatrette and Canteen area were being built.
In the meantime, Mass and Benediction was celebrated in the lounge of the Parish House.
The number of parishioners was growing and the need to move became necessary.
Father Monaghan then asked for musicians and people to join a choir. Father had acquired a little Harmonium organ and we were set. My sister, Sue told me if I played the organ she would join the choir. Before long we had a strong vocal group - Lillian Cooke, Jan Baker, Graham & Julia Mynott (Graham on guitar), Lyn Williams and Martin Ebdon, plus others as time went on. Mary Burkett joined our group as relief organist, her sister Sue played the violin and Mike Lester played the clarinet.
With the boost in musicians Father invested in an electric organ (Rogers 700). With a very generous parish, we were able to pay it off in good time.
This being my first experience with an electronic organ, Father arranged for Maryanne and myself to have lessons from the Director of Music. at St Paul's Cathedral in Manuka (on a pipe organ) - Mr John Barrett, who was our tutor, was incredible - his knowledge of the liturgy was endless being a member of the RCCM. .
By this time the parish continued to grow and the need for extra Masses was inevitable, thus Saturday pm, 8am and l0am Sunday and pm Sunday Masses were brought in.
In the early 1980's Father Peter Quirk came as our new PP, and thus the plans for our new "church on the hill" above Padua started to become a reality.
The site was blessed by the Bishop Morgan. The foundations were dug, and we watched our church grow. It was all very exciting. Father Quirk even arranged for the bell to be brought from his previous parish at Jindabyne to grace the top of our church.
The opening of the Church was very grand and my experiences at St Anthony's very memorable.
From 1982, Cathy Bennett was my assistant organist, and became my replacement when I moved interstate to Tasmania in 1989.
Cathy Bennett, organist at St Anthony's – from 1982
When I first started playing, Lorraine Keen and Anne Lane were our very talented and capable organists. We had quite a large choir, with John Kenny leading and training us.
I remember a few dramas being experienced when John was setting up our PR system and microphones etc - we still experience problems from time to time, but nothing like those early days!
When Lorraine left to go to Tassie, Anne and I became the two organists. (Anne unfortunately suffered illness not long after Lorraine left and could no longer play.) When Anne could no longer play, we were fortunate that two lovely ladies stepped forward to share the load - Sue Jones and Vivienne Palmer. Tony Lazzarato (a teacher from Padua) also helped out until he was transferred interstate. Around this time also, I became Musical Coordinator of the various groups for several years. We still had quite a large choir. We had four Masses, and every service was supplied with music. There were also regular school Masses that either the 10am choir or the school played for. All these different groups needed to be liaised with. We all tried to combine one large service, be it the candle ceremony of Easter, or Midnight Mass at Christmas.
I remember the headaches that the new Copyright licensing gave our Parish when they first came in (and still have the capacity to do so!) Many, many months of work by Father Quirk and the Parish Council, the Liturgy Committee and the Copyright Committee went into ensuring that we covered all the requirements of the new laws. I was on that Committee, as was Mary Miliano, Faye Noonan, Tim Duffy and representatives from all the various musical groups, including Antioch. It was decided that we start using overheads and As One Voice, (the new Australian collection of hymns). This allowed us to broaden the scope of music we could play and to cater for all the various music groups rather than being restricted to using either our old parish hymnal or purchasing a more updated hymnal book. This is an ongoing project.
Some of the people over the years that I particularly know of for their contribution to the music in the parish are:
- John Kenny, who really helped to set up the first large choir in St Anthony's and was responsible for the setting up of our sound system in the church. It has been modified a few times over the years, but it is thanks to John that we have a PR system which is so adaptable.
- Mary Miliano, who has also been involved with the choir for quite a number of years, initially with the 10am choir, and then the school Masses. Mary has also served her time as Musical Coordinator across all the musical groups. She has helped out on many occasions for the big Masses. Mary was also largely instrumental in our parish securing an electric keyboard to be used for Masses.
- Faye Noonan, who played with Mike and June McGurgan, Frances Doherty and ???? was part of the guitar group for years. I remember Faye playing with Graham and Julia Mynott for a long time. Faye also helped out on many occasions when we had a "combined" choir effort for the big Masses.
- Pat and Esther, Brian, Carole, Nick, Doria, Tony, Judith, Margaret and Kathryn T and their brothers, Beth, Tim and Jean, Martin, Anne and Bob, Stephen, Kate & Louis are just some of the people who have, at various times been involved in singing at the (old 10am) and 9.30am Masses.
- Scott Simmons, who was our Musical Coordinator for a number of years, and as well as being involved with Antioch and playing for 6pm Sunday Mass, also lent his hand and expertise, for the large services, especially Christmas and Easter.
- Barbi, who also helped out many times with the 9.30am Mass when she was in Canberra - Barbi spent at least half the year in Queensland minding a Macadamia nut farm.
The various Antioch groups over the years also brought a continuation of music, and injection of new and energetic music to our liturgies. Their talent and enthusiasm was amazing to witness over the years, and they were a joy to work with.
We have been very blessed in this parish by talented and dedicated musicians, be they keyboard players, singers, guitarists, drummers, flautists, etc. They are so generous with their gifts and their time, and always willing to help one and another out.
I would like to thank ALL our musicians for their talent, dedication and commitment over the years - and it is a BIG commitment to undertake to turn up for practices and to sing/play at Mass every week. Well done, and keep up the good work!
Memories of a Wanniassa Parish choir 1984-1988 (by John J Kenny)
Anne Lane, who was also strongly supporting music at St Anthony’s primary school, had been invited in 1980 by the founding PP to play organ for the parish. This led her to undertake formal pipe organ studies. It was the second PP, Fr Quirk, who encouraged Cathy Miliano to play our Rogers organ. At this time, these talented musicians rotated with Lorraine to accompany the organ group and lead the congregation. Lorraine would later return to Tasmania to live.
In 1984, the parish worshipped in the Padua High school auditorium. Canberra parishes, including ours, were still singing the Percy Jones Jubilee Mass of Pope Paul, composed around 1970. Wanniassa parish was singing from a Dominican-published hymnal ("Praise to God" – ed. Nicolas Falzun OP).
Publication of the "Catholic Worship Book" in 1985 and recourse to earlier collections of psalm settings by Christopher Willcock SJ yielded some excellent seasonal service music for Passiontide, the Easter Triduum and any given Sunday, so I endeavoured to enrich major annual feasts and solemnities with some of this material and to expand the role of the cantor.
In the planning of the new parish church, the architect ensured that there would at least be space (especially height) for the installation of any possible future pipe organ.
As the Padua High auditorium was too small to stage a 5 pm Children’s Christmas Mass, the nearby school gymnasium was substituted on more than one occasion. In 1986, I set up some of the sound equipment purchased for the imminent new church to amplify the organ and singers in the gym.
For the official church opening in May 1987, singers from a guitar group joined forces with those from our organ group. Musical highlights included Chris Willcock’s energetic "Litany of the Saints" and Ralph Vaughan Williams’s four-part motet "O Taste and see how gracious the Lord is". Lacking a tenor with experience in singing harmonies, I borrowed one from Campbell parish for the occasion and everything went well. Anne and Cathy shared the organ playing.
I left Wanniassa parish to work in Sydney in early 1989.
Scott Simmons (Parish Music Co-ordinator)
By the time I took on the role of Parish Music Co-ordinator in 1998, the Sunday evening Liturgy had become associated with the Parish Antioch Group, whose talents were variously drawn upon by a core group of three young women; Margaret & Kathryn T and prolific composer and musician (keyboard, guitar, flute etc), Beth. This group of talented young women progressively introduced their own compositions, as well as music from other Communions; most notably Hillsong Australia, from which we derived the very famous and ever popular ‘Shout to the Lord’ by Darlene Zschech.
But as these young women moved on to other aspects of their lives, including study, work and marriage, it became apparent that this core group was not going to remain sustainable. As co-ordinator, I had to arrange for something to fill this significant gap. I decided I’d sit at the keyboard and play something and see if anyone else sang along.
Well sometimes they did; sometimes they didn’t. But once again the Taylor family came to the rescue with Robert and Greg taking the lead with singing so that I had a better chance of getting the rest of the congregation to join in. Other regular contributors included, Bob, Anne & Stephen, Madeline, Jamie and Glenn, together with Aaron, Rebekah and Rachel.
At various times I accessed the talents of Antiochers to contribute to specific Liturgies. During 2005, Antioch re-commenced an earlier tradition of preparing the Sunday evening Liturgy once a month. This included Glenn and fellow guitarists Amy and Emily, as well as Michael on drums and Alison on vocals. But the flavour of music on Sunday evening wasn’t always youth friendly under my stewardship; much to the dismay of some. I added many youth friendly titles to my repertoire, but some had no reservations in telling me how much they disliked it when I played the organ; especially if it was an all-organ Mass. Conversely, others told me how much they liked it when I played the ‘old’ ones; organ or not. There is value to be found in all of them.
I attempted to develop a repertoire that incorporated the instructions of the Church’s Liturgy Documents, including instructions regarding Progressive Solemnity. The Church instructs her musicians to seek out good music from many sources, including other Communions, but also to preserve her Treasury of Sacred Music; to find balance in the Liturgical, Pastoral and Musical necessities of this Ministry. It’s certainly not perfect, but as St. Augustine reminds us, ‘Do not allow yourselves to be offended by the imperfect whilst we strive for the perfect’.
Vigil Music Ministry - Faye Noonan, August 2026
The Saturday Vigil music group had its origins in the early days of the Parish, singing at 8:00am Mass on Sunday, which was then held in the theatrette at Padua High School (now St Mary MacKillop College).
In the late 70s, a few musicians came together to lead the music at Sunday morning Mass. One member, Keith gave guitar lessons and encouraged others to play with them. The group continued to grow. At times there were up to 20 people attending practices and up to 12 people playing and singing at Mass. Others who helped form the group in those earlier years were Fred and Maria, Rod, Graham and Julia, Jim and Trish. Over time the group has been a training ground for many “budding” musicians who appreciated the chance to improve their skills and gain confidence. I was one of those who benefitted from this opportunity in the early 80s.
It became more than just a group who sang at Mass. We enjoyed each other’s company and found real joy in singing. It was a way of giving expression to our faith and strengthening it. Practices became social gatherings as we met weekly to sing and share delicious suppers.
The group extended its talents to sing at weddings, funerals, local Carols-by-Candlelight nights and social functions, and for a time took on the name of ‘Riverfolk’.
In the mid 80’s with the opening of Holy Family Parish at Gowrie, numbers decreased as some members moved to their new Parish. However, the group in Wanniassa continued strongly. In the late 80’s the group offered to sing at the Vigil Mass as there was no music, and this has continued to this day. Members such as Graham and Julia, Allan and Cheryl, Dianne, Greg, Rosemary, Roger and Faye continued to lead the music for many years - some being with the group for over 20 years.
From the early 2000s the group saw some changes. Mike and June (our bass playing grandmother) led the group for the next 15 years till they stepped back due to Mike’s health. They were accompanied by Gerard, Anthony and Faye on guitar; Linda on the keyboard; Ros on the bodhran (an Irish folk drum); Frances playing the tambourine.
Supporting the musicians, the group has welcomed a number of singers, including Enid, Asiz , Anne-Maree and Bev.
Michael was always very encouraging of younger members. For a number of years leading up to Christmas, practices were held at St Anthony’s school for a children’s choir to sing at the Christmas Family Mass. This extended to welcoming children to sing and play with the group at the Vigil Mass.
While still in primary school, a number of young boys joined the group: three from the Andrew family, Daniel on the guitar and Chris. Chris has remained a member to this day. He is now an accomplished keyboard player and singer, and also assists in coordinating the group.
The Vigil mass group has continued to welcome new faces and farewell members over time. Currently the group is supported by singers Maggie, Mike and Michael; accompanied by Chris on the keyboard, with Michael as a backup; David and Faye on the guitar; and Ros with her bodhran. During the weekend Masses, the Psalm and Gospel Acclamation are now led by cantors, from the Vigil (Michael and Chris) and Sunday morning choirs. On special occasions and Feast Days, the two groups combine to enrich the liturgy, under Mary Miliano’s training and guidance.
Thank you to all who have supported this ministry over the years through their singing and playing. There are too many to include all the names. The faces may change but the same spirit prevails. Those involved always give generously of their time, talents and enthusiasm as a way to express their faith.
From its origins to the present, this group has indeed been a ministry not only to the Parish, but to all those who have participated in it.
Mary Miliano, Co-Leader, Sunday 9am Music Ministry: Some Reflections 1988-2026
In 1988 I joined the Sunday 6pm music ministry as a singer/guitarist. Others in the group included singer/guitarists Greg, Cathy and Steve Smith and singers Liz and Paul.
Fr Peter Quirk had strategically purchased the last two available copies of the ‘Praise to God’ (cream) accompaniment hymnbook for our musicians. Our congregation used the small brown ‘Praise to God’ (lyrics only) hymn book to join in singing. This gave us a good foundation of Catholic hymns for Liturgy.
More singers and guitarists including Patricia and Chris, Chris A, Leonie, Anne and Stephanie joined us in the 1990s. By then I was experimenting with bringing my portable keyboard along to complement the guitarists.
In the 1990s, the Australian music publisher Willow Connection began release of the now well-known and popular hymnbook collection ‘As One Voice’. These volumes offered a wider variety of wonderful and more contemporary hymns for Catholic Liturgy (such as ‘One Bread One Body’, ‘Celebrate’, ‘Here I Am Lord’) We were pleased to add them to our existing repertoire together with Frank Andersen’s beautiful publication ‘Eagles Wings/Everything I Possess’. St Anthony’s also invested in a Church license with Word of Life to display lyrics on overheads for the congregation.
In 1996, Beth (aged in her early teens) commenced as leader of the ‘Antioch’/youth music ministry for some Sunday evening Masses. Beth continued in this role until around 2002. Together with Beth’s beautiful musicianship, including some of her own compositions, and St Anthony’s purchase of a Yamaha PSR8000 keyboard, a new blossoming of music together with youth in our parish took place for those Masses. Beth also recently shared a lovely story of her family that while her dad (Michael) was helping to install the bell at St Anthony’s church, her mum (Frances) went into labour with Beth’s sibling, Joe.
From around this time, I also remember hearing Cathy Bennett and sometimes Barbi as excellent organists during the Sunday morning Masses and hearing children from St Anthony’s School present beautifully under Anne Lane’s direction.
In early 1998 Nick approached me to join a small Parish Music Copyright Committee together with Cathy Bennett and Faye Noonan. Nick was also a very good bass in our Sunday morning choir, our main ‘sound man’ at that time and our Parish Music Coordinator. Our little Committee identified that different repertoires are covered by different licensing companies. We wrote up our report with recommendations to continue with our Word of Life (now OneLicense) licenses for the more Catholic and sacramental hymns. Additionally, we recommended taking up new licenses with CCLI. The CCLI licenses would allow our choirs and congregation to access licensed music resources and to display overhead (now powerpoint) lyrics for some of contemporary, ecumenical, praise and worship hymns such as ‘Shine, Jesus Shine’, ‘Lord I Lift Your Name on High’, ‘The Power of Your Love,’ ‘Isn’t He?’, ‘Shout to the Lord’, ‘Just Let Me Say’, ‘O Lord Have Mercy on Me’, and more recently ‘What the Lord Has Done in Me’, ‘My Lighthouse’, and ‘Oceans’, to name a few. We were pleased that our parish priest Fr Peter Cronin together with our Finance Committee supported our recommendations. Like many Catholic churches today we are grateful to be able to continue with both these licensing companies.
In the early 2000’s I was invited to alternate fortnightly with Cathy Bennett as accompanist for the Sunday mid-morning Mass. Then, some of our choir included Nick, Evelyn, Martin, Esther, Ray, Anne, Bob, Stephen and Leonie, and Katie and Louis.
Around this time Scott Simmons joined our music ministry and took up the role of Parish Music Coordinator. Scott also led a Sunday evening music ministry with vocal support from young singers including Rob and his younger brother Greg(who at that time sang with a wonderful boy soprano voice)
For a decade or so, together with Cathy Bennett as our organist, I assisted as conductor for some of our major Liturgical occasions – at Christmas and the Easter Triduum. We had a wonderful choir, with leaders and members from all our music ministries sharing/joining in the music for these special Liturgies. During the Easter Triduum especially we drew heavily from the (green) Catholic Worship Book (1985). This work remains a valuable resource for Liturgical music today. It has a selection of the older hymns, and psalm settings by a wide variety of composers.
From around 2003 I led music with tenor Ray for some of our Sunday Masses. Later, singer/guitarists Bernadette and Paul joined us. At Fr Mietek Markowitz’s initiative and with Bernadette as a teacher at St Anthony’s Primary School, we incorporated some children’s hymns at monthly school/parish Sunday Masses. For this we drew especially from Andrew Chinn’s songs. A highlight was ‘Tell the Good News’ that he composed together with St Anthony’s School. It became St Anthony’s School song, and it has a special place in the hearts of many parishioners. In addition, our music ministries have often been invited to present music for First Eucharist and/or Confirmation. On some of these occasions we have prepared hymns especially requested by the Religious Education teacher or Sacramental Coordinator.
Our Sunday morning group expanded with the welcome addition of more singers including Judith, Margaret, Kathryn and Rachel, Jenny, Ali, Rob and Greg, Esther and Evelyn. At this time Lovey also joined us as a very gifted and accomplished pianist. We were fortunate to explore some 3- and 4-part music for Christmas at that time and in the following years.
In late 2019, the then Vicar-General, Fr (now Bishop) Tony Percy was appointed as our parish priest. Fr Tony stated that the ‘pillars of a good parish are good preaching (and teaching), good community and good music’. He proved to be a great encourager and enabler of all in our parish including our various music ministries.
By the time of Fr Tony’s arrival, we had music at our Saturday Vigil Mass (led by Faye Noonan with Chris) and fortnightly music at the Sunday 9am Mass (which I led). Fr Tony was keen to have music at all weekend Masses. So, he arranged for Greg to lead music on alternate Sunday 9am Masses, and for Julie to coordinate and lead music at the Sunday Evening Mass.
Another key priority for Fr Tony was to have the Psalm chanted at Mass. To support this, he invited Jaki Kane, Musical Director at St Christopher’s Cathedral, to run Psalm Tone workshops for our singers. These were popular and successful. We are grateful to have several very gifted and experienced cantors who are now rostered across the Saturday Vigil and Sunday morning Masses. They are Chris, Doreen, Greg and Rachel, Lisa, Grace and Lachlan, Michael, Jo, Bernadette and me. In recent years Br Barry Donoghue, Yvonne, Brigita, Beth, Julie, Jenny, Geetanjali, Margaret, Rob and Martin were also beautiful cantors for our Liturgies. We are most grateful to all! Our weekend cantors mostly use Responsorial Psalm settings by the very generous and gifted Br Michael Herry. Also, we have the option to supply an unaccompanied Psalm Tone or source a setting in the ‘Catholic Worship Book’ (1985) as needed.
Additionally, we have revived our 4-part choir and are developing our repertoire to include both well-known and new hymns.
During the quiet months of Covid, we achieved a couple of Virtual choir hymns in 4 parts to help us stay connected as a parish choir. These were ‘Soul of My Saviour’ and ‘Christ Be With Me’. At the time, Jane our Parish IT expert kindly uploaded these to our parish website/blog
Fr Tony also supported the replacement of our two musical instruments in the church in 2020. Sadly, the old Rodgers organ had been steadily declining and progressively failing for some years (due to corrosion, warping, infestation of mice (!) and insects through floor level openings – a design feature of that older organ model – and sections of its electronic cabling having been eaten). At that time our nearly 20-year-old keyboard also started to fail. We are grateful to Fr Tony, to our Parish Finance Committee and to those generous Parishioners who donated specifically to cover the costs for the beautiful new Rodgers Classic Series 559 organ and Roland HP704 Digital Piano for our church.
Our musicians and our congregations have been enjoying these wonderful instruments during Liturgies ever since, and I hope for many years and decades into the future.
It is a wonderful gift to us to be able to honour, praise and worship God through our music and to have such excellent singing congregations in our parish.
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all our cantors and to our singers in our Sunday and 4-part choirs. Within the past decade or so these have included Judith, Margaret, Kathryn, Rachel, Teresa and Jenny, Julie, Doreen, Clare, Bernadette, Morgan, Lisa, Jane, Jo, Brigita and Eva, Chib, Cathy Bennett, Scott Simmons, Greg, Rob, Chris, Br Barry Donoghue, Mike, Rani, Grace and Lachlan, Evelyn and Beccy, Faye, Naomi R, Naomi G, Nerissa, Maggie, Charmaine, Carol, Geetanjali, Chris T, Chris R, Ron, Michael, Esther (✝) Remy(✝), Ray(✝), Alain (✝), Mark(✝), and Martin(✝) Thank you also to pianists Lovey and Danny who have accompanied us so beautifully. Many thanks too, to our excellent music ministry leaders: Greg, Faye and Chris. In addition, special thanks to our parish priest Fr John Armstrong, for his interest, encouragement and support to our music ministries, and to all our past parish priests who have supported and encouraged us. Further, many thanks to our wonderful congregations who sing so beautifully at Mass; and deepest thanks and gratitude to our awesome, loving and majestic heavenly Father, Son and Holy Spirit without whom our efforts would have very limited relevance and meaning.
Music at Mass supports the Liturgy. Our music must be appropriate for the liturgical season, feast, or special occasion, and for the place in the Mass where it occurs.
Sometimes our music echoes scripture readings. At other times it reflects on the readings, season or occasion.
Our music ministries sing and play to the best standard we can achieve. We are not about performance as such or alone, though. Instead, our intention is to focus on, be in the presence of and give glory to God, and to assist the congregation in the same.
St Anthony’s has two regular weekend music ministries: The Saturday 5pm Vigil Mass music ministry led by Faye and Chris and the Sunday 9am Mass music ministry alternately co-led by Greg and Mary. A little music is also offered at some weekday Masses. A larger choir presents music at special occasion Liturgies and is also developing and extending its four-part repertoire. Each music ministry rehearses prior to the Mass they sing at, and our larger choir rehearses Tuesdays at 7.30pm.
Our music community is a talented, competent and pleasant team. We have successfully mixed, matched, merged and shared roles and programs across major Liturgical events in recent years.
We welcome new musicians and singers to join us.
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Pastoral Groups "walking together”
Helping Hands Group
After the Synod
Assembly Fr Mietek and a group of parishioners met at the home of Margaret
& Bernie. They were interested in forming a group to provide
service to the elderly, infirm and housebound in the parish. Coordinated by Margaret, John & Denise the group offered
assistance with the following areas of support:
• Home visiting & Visiting Aged
Care facilities.
• Transport: A transport roster system
was set up. It was compulsory for driver
volunteers to have a Working With Vulnerable People
registration and filed with the St. Anthony’s Parish office. Elderly
parishioners & those in need were transported to & from Mass, to &
from the Senior Morning Teas and other social events. John was a regular
volunteer during this time and Denise coordinator.
• Provision of Meals: A group of
volunteers provided a home cooked meal to isolated unwell parishioners and
elderly , within our Parish Community. Some of which were freshly cooked
deliveries & others were frozen home cooked meals, which were stored in the
Parish Freezer.
• Seniors Gatherings
Prior to the Synod
Assembly Wendy & other volunteers organised Seniors Dinners. Wendy
also took part in organising Seniors Christmas celebrations with other
volunteers.
Retired Parish
secretary Marie Lemon was coordinator for some Seniors morning teas during Fr
Quirk’s time as Parish Priest.
Margaret
became coordinator bringing much joy with her sense of humour & laughter
& inspiring ideas with always a flower to offer. With her a group of
volunteers invited Senior Parishioners to a monthly morning tea held in the
meeting room under the church.
Coordinators Judy, then Pauline with the wonderful assistance of volunteers who
provided the home cooked refreshments assisted with setting up, cleaning and
decorating the room, providing comfortable seating, transport & very warm
welcome to our guests. Denise would collect freshly made sandwiches made
by a very kind lady Margo for many years.
Pauline would organise morning tea for special Church calendar dates such as Easter, Christmas, St Patricks Day Mothers & Father’s Day & winter warmers with a special mention for Seniors Birthdays. The list of Senior contacts was well over 70. We were so thankful for all our wonderful volunteers. To name some, Annette , Lyn, Denise, Frances, Carmen, John, Anne, Enid, Margaret, Anne, Joan, Elly and Gael.
For a short time,
with the permission from school authority we welcomed some McKillop College
school students to visit & serve as part of their community leadership
roles
Friendships grew
& the morning was always well attended & enjoyed by all Fr Mietek , Fr Lachlan & secretary Lyn Mexon would visit occasionally offering Prayers & a
warm welcome. Seniors were delighted
with Fr Mietek arriving once with a box of cherries to share at Christmas. A
morning bringing Senior parishioners together sharing our Faith in Prayer,
friendship, music chatting & support.
Pauline Aylen
would bring smiles & laughter with her routinely presented list of jokes
& stories. Memorable time for many years, along with many photos & some
videos.
Sunday
Morning Tea Group
Always a person ready for a party, Fr Mietek put forward the idea of morning tea after Sunday Mass. And so that practice started and is still running in 2026. The first Sunday of the month, all are invited to congregate outside the church entrance for a chat and a cuppa. Eileen, Pauline and Sheila work to ensure the cake plates are emptied within 20 minutes!
St
Vincent de Paul
The Society of St Vincent de Paul is an international organisation of Catholic lay people, men and women, who practise Christianity by helping those in need on a person to person basis. The Parish Conference of the Society comprises members of our parish community who visit families and supports them in numerous ways including food and budgeting. There are two twin conferences in Indonesia at Lawang and at Flores, which is a small Catholic community in a mainly Muslim country and was devastated by an earthquake in 1992.
Refugee
resettlement
The Australian population was no less xenophobic in 1979 than it is today, but the Fraser coalition government offered a more humane refugee policy. Instead of demonising the refugee, the government convinced the population that, firstly, there were not so many of them and second, the regimes of Pol Pot and others which rose in the wake of the Vietnam war were repulsive and the refugees were in such a state of desperation that providing them with sanctuary and assistance was an obligation of a civilised country. The government asked that community groups provide the support and it would provide monetary assistance and income support equal to unemployment benefits. The parish’s role was to make them welcome, to assist with finding accommodation, to provide a few weeks supply of rent and food until government benefits started to flow and to help them integrate into the Australian community.
The level of desperation was borne out by the stories from the refugees St. Anthony’s settled. One mother told how she was awakened during the night to leave. She had a baby a month old. If she stayed alone, soldiers would kill both her and the baby before morning. The organisers were, at first reluctant to take her but eventually did on condition that she carry a plastic bag with the baby and would use it if the baby awoke. She believed it a miracle that the baby slept twelve hours until safely out of harm’s way.
A parish meeting was called on 6 May 1979 to discuss the acceptance and settlement of refugee families. The parishioners agreed and asked that action be coordinated through the Parish Council. This was the same meeting that decided to form a parish council. Parish support was overwhelming. Donations of food, clothing and household items including fridges and washing machines were received along with money. Two individuals made donations of $1,000 (the equivalent of $7,000 in 2006) each
The first family Lem Mouen and Thi Yen (Lem is the family name) arrived on 25 August 1979. They had four children, three (Rasmey, Sophie and Visna) school age, one pre-school (Sophi) and were expecting a fifth. They were welcomed at a parish reception on 31 August 1979. When the baby was born on 21 September 1979, they named him Anthony’.
St Anthony’s Grief Support Group
In early 2024, a number of parishioners felt the need for a self-help group in the parish that would provide support to those suffering grief due to some loss in their life. The loss could have been through the death of a spouse or child, a divorce etc.
The purpose of the group was to bring together those parishioners so they could support each other on their grief journey.
After interested parishioners had a discussion with Fr Tom, it was agreed the group would meet socially each month over a coffee or occasionally a meal.
The group has continued to operate since early 2024 providing support to members.
Community activities
Trivia nights; walking groups; Parish Dinners, Parish picnics and Potluck dinners were initiated to help more people in the Parish to get to know each other better. It is a simple and inexpensive way for people to get to know each other and to develop Parish unity and friendships - and providing a chance to participate in great social evenings. People joining the Potluck were balloted at random to attend four home dinners per year, once a quarter. Everyone hosted one dinner per year and attended three others.
The host provided the main course and the guests provided the other courses. The composition of the group changed every quarter.
The host provided the venues and contacted the rest of the group to arrange a mutually agreeable date for the dinner. Cardinal rules-simple food and a social evening.
Numerous Parish dinners and Trivia nights have been conducted over the years.
More recent times it has evolved to soup evenings, and the multi-cultural
element of our parish has meant many delicious dishes for all.
Majellan Club by Noelene Bush
In early 1982 Wendy and I felt there was a need for a social network for mothers in what was a relatively new parish. We thought it fitting, given that St Gerard Majella is the patron saint of mothers, to form what we called “The Majellan Club”.
We gathered 6 mothers from the parish, as the initial members. Meeting on the first Tuesday of the month at family homes, in the evening.
By the middle of 1982 the group had grown, averaging 16 mothers in the group at any time, and meetings held consistently.
This was testament that there was a need for busy Mum's to have a friendship and support network.
Devotion to St Gerard Majella, and the catholic faith was a priority, and the main focus of our meetings was friendships, networking, parental support for new mothers, and overall support for families in the parish. The support the club extended often consisted of a hot meal, travel, babysitting or a supportive ear to a mother or family in need.
Regular social outings such as evening dinners out in addition to our regular meetings and parish support were also very popular.
Over time, the core members were committed via strong dedicated genuine friendships, many of which continue today.
The club was well supported by parish priests, Fathers Monaghan and Quirk.
The success of the club was evident as surrounding parishes reached out for assistance in setting up their own parish club.
I stayed involved with the club until the mid 90’s when I relocated away from the parish.
Play group
The Wanniassa Wombats play group started in 1995, gathering in the community room at the church each Thursday morning. Bridie was the inaugural leader and then Teresa ran the group for a number of years. Many friendships were formed, especially amongst children who then went on to St Anthony’s Primary School.
Appendix E: Spiritual
Wednesday morning Reflection Group
Beginning in 2009, a group of parishioners meets on Wednesday mornings, following the 9am Mass, to reflect on and discuss the scripture readings for the following Sunday. The group meets for about an hour in a prayerful and supportive environment, considers various reflections and shares views and insights - confident that the Holy Spirit speaks to us through each person. The group is still running in 2026.
Children’s Liturgy
Children aged roughly from four to eight were invited to go downstairs to the meeting room. There was an ‘altar’ set up with a crucifix and candle. Liturgy began with a welcoming and an explanation of the theme of the day’s Mass, including where it fits in to the Liturgical Year. Then there was a Penitential Rite, aimed at the children’s level. An Acolyte would read the Gospel from the Children’s Bible. The presenter, who had prepared the Liturgy, would explain the Gospel including a little background. There was a children’s version of the Creed, then if time permitted, an activity for ‘hands on’ instruction and a song. The children would return to the main body of the church for the Offertory Procession.
Parishioner Jo’s Recollections
At the start of Mass, Father Mietek would gather us children and hand over a candle from the altar. Each of us hoped to be the one chosen to carry the candle out of church. If that opportunity was missed, there was still the chance to participate in the offertory procession and take the gifts up to the altar.
Singing was an integral part of the liturgy, as was some sort of craft or game. Technology was rather more basic. In the back corner of the meeting room was a mysterious brown box through which the proceedings of church could be heard—provided you put your ear right up to the box! No one really knew how it worked; these days there’s probably a parent in the church who sends an SMS to indicate Offertory time.
Advent calendars were another highlight. They seemed wonderful when we were making them during Children’s Liturgy, although the absence of chocolate proved somewhat disappointing in the weeks that followed!
The Jesse Tree and Nativity enactments were great fun and provided many opportunities for us to participate. The role of Mary was the coveted part that every girl hoped to play. The angel Gabriel came a close second.
The costume collection is a much-used and valued asset of the parish. Costumes were made by Julie Wallace, Evelyn Pond and Sandy Cassidy, along with many sewing bee volunteers. For most of the year the costumes hung untouched in storage. But in early December out they came, being borrowed for school pageants throughout Canberra. As a result, many children beyond St Anthony’s have had the opportunity to wear our shepherds’ robes and other costumes.
By 2014 the number of children had decreased and Children’s Liturgy ceased.
In 2020 Father Tony encouraged Kathryn Liston to take up a parish youth ministry. Kathryn facilitated Life Lessons for sacramental programs. Her COVID initiative of crosses around Wanniassa brought joy to many during lock-down. Under Kathryn’s guidance the parish celebrated several beautiful outdoor “Stations of the Cross” services.
In 2025 Monika, Sienna and a team of supporters opened the doors of Children’s Liturgy for a new generation.
RCIA
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is the formal name for a process, initiated after Vatican II, which assists people to find Christ in their lives. It involves the community in reaching out to people to assist them in their faith journey. The RCIA accommodates:
- unbaptised people
- baptised people who have not been confirmed
- people from other Christian denominations
- Catholics who have not been practicing their faith
- active Catholics who want to find out more about their faith.
RCIA commenced in the Parish in 1981 and has continued with only minor breaks.
Karen and Martin led the RCIA initially with Brian B being a significant figure. They were joined by many parishioners over the years.
Wayne succeeded Karen as coordinator in the early 1990’s, joined for a number of years by Loui and Cherry.
Louis coordinated the group in the early 2000s.
In more recent years coordinators have included Carolyn, Clare, Grace and Andrew.
Antioch
This was a parish-based ministry for young people by young people. Antioch
in Wanniassa welcomed people from Year 11 up to 20 years of age. The group grew
considerably to number around 40 members and was a vital and lively part of our
faith community.
Antioch had operated in the Parish in the early 1990s but had lapsed for a few
years before being revived in 1998 through the efforts of Debbie & Brian and Trish & Vince. Later parent couples included Ellen and Declan, Helen and Bruce, Sandy and Wayne.
The Antioch group met after the Sunday night Mass, at 7.30pm, in the community
room under the Church. They also gathered
bright and early for Thursday morning Mass, followed by breakfast in the
community room.
The group also established a significant presence at the Sunday night
Mass. Members of the group gathered together for the Mass on the choir side of the
church.
As the demographic of the parish changed, numbers of young people declined and while the group for a time incorporated members from other parishes, it eventually lapsed around 2010.
Prayer for the City at St Anthony’s
– Mary Miliano (Target 2000 and St Anthony’s Prayer for the City Coordinator, 1998-2019)
In the late 1980s and 1990s ‘Target 2000’, a global Christian ecumenical prayer movement was underway. Its purpose was to pray for people to be encouraged and inspired with a new or increased faith in Jesus, for increased church attendance, for the development of more Christian churches and to spark a Christian revival by the year 2000. Senior Pastor Brian Medway, founder of the Grace Christian Fellowship and of Crosslink Canberra Network led this prayer movement in Canberra. After 2000, it continued under the name ‘Prayer for the City’. Also, with Canberra as Australia’s capital city and seat of Federal Parliament, our city’s significance as special and influential for our nation and globally was clear. I was asked to encourage others at St Anthony’s to participate. Our then parish priest, Fr Peter Cronin, welcomed the opportunity to increase prayer in our parish and supported us. Over 30 parishioners at St Anthony’s participated. We prayed for our local neighbourhood, took part in bi-monthly ‘Scripture and Hymns’ prayer evenings in the church, attended monthly Mass followed by Adoration from 6pm to midnight on First Fridays, and participated in occasional local ecumenical prayer events.
The opening verses of Luke’s Gospel Chapter 10 inspired our and others’ efforts. To paraphrase, Jesus had instructed his disciples firstly to pray for others, then to fellowship with them, then to meet their needs, and then to tell them the Gospel (and - it was pointed out – not the other way around!)
We didn’t go out and evangelise as such, but we did do a lot of praying over the 20 years that our parish formally participated.
We are no longer formally active with ‘Prayer for the City’. However, it remains important to pray for our city of Canberra with our local and federal governments, for those in authority, for families to be strong and loving, for those who are vulnerable, for those who are in prison, who are lonely, sick or dying ~ indeed for everyone in our city and region!
Special thanks to our many parish priests who supported our efforts to pray for our city, and who offered Masses on First Fridays for the City of Canberra and set up the Blessed Sacrament for Adoration afterwards; to Sue, Ray, Ann and later, Deacon John Lim, for their excellent support to our Scripture and Hymns prayer nights; to our many acolytes who reposed the Blessed Sacrament at the end of Adoration on First Friday nights; to every wonderful parishioner who participated over many, many occasions, and who faithfully took up rostered times to attend Adoration over so many years; and to all in our parish who supported this prayer effort in any way. May you keep on praying for our city. May you in turn be blessed.
Sacramental Preparation
- Sr Stephanie
- Sr Margaret
- Change from school based to family based - Claudia
- Involvement of Parish through posters put up in the Church leading up to First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and children handing out Prayer cards
Other programs and activities over the years
- Bible Study – Little Rock
- Lenten Programmes
- Adult Catechesis
- Marian Movement of Priests Cenacles on Wed am after 9.30 Mass – also Mon evenings
- Legion of Mary
- Prayer Groups – under Fathers Monaghan and Quirk
- Parish Renewals – 5 parish renewals between Sept 1976 and September 1982 November 1980 ; November 1981
- Missions – Fr Monaghan four Missions – Dominicans two with Fr John Hooper, one with Franciscans for the 750th anniversary of the death of St Anthony and one in 1982 with Fr Pat Keenan CssR; Fr Quirk – Redemptorists
- Retreats
Appendix F: Parish Administration
Parish Secretaries Marie Lemon, Lyn Mexon, Meg Lillicrap, Anita Joseph Louis and Elizabeth Wilson.
Lyn's Recollections
I started as secretary in early 1993, working 5 mornings a week with Father Quirk. He encouraged me in my role and parishioners helped me learn on the job. In particular, I have wonderful memories of Mike B and Sean Mc teaching me the computer and finance systems.
As the years passed, I worked with Father Cronin and then Father Mietek. Father Mietek’s parents visited once from Poland, and the four of us would pause for morning tea in the presbytery dining room – no takeaways at the office desk!
Over the years the diocesan network for parish secretaries grew; a positive as the role of a single secretary can sometimes be a little isolated. There were annual parish secretary days as well as periodic breakfasts. Towards the end of my office days, I became a mentor to some of the newer secretaries.
Throughout the years I was grateful to so many parishioners who helped me with parish administration – it’s such a multi-faceted position. I retired in 2018, a year before Father Lachlan. I felt sad leaving the buzz of parish life but am still firm friends with many St Anthony’s parishioners. At Saturday evening Mass, I sometimes reflect on my parish secretary days.
The Parish Pastoral Council shares the full range of the pastoral concerns of the Parish Priest. Its function is to advise and assist the Parish Priest and to lead and represent the whole Parish Community. The importance of the Parish Pastoral Council is emphasised by the fact that the only recommendation of the Diocesan Synod that was given force of a formal Decree was that each parish in the Archdiocese must have a Parish Pastoral Council.
The Finance Committee assists the priest in administering the financial affairs of the Parish, including the preparation of the Parish Budget each year and monitoring income and expenditure.
Volunteers and Rosters are the backbone of much administration, and the parish couldn't exist without them!
Appendix G: Parish School
The parish primary school began in 1980 in the buildings of Padua Catholic High School in McKinnon Street Wanniassa. As a result of the rapid increase in enrolments the school soon had an annex at Erindale College.
- Joy Bresser
- Frank Van Der Heide
- Terry Gimpel
- Paul Croker
- Tim Smith
- Matthew Garson
- Tim Elliott
- Greg Walker
- Erin Marmont
Memories of School 1982-2006 by Sue Short
I began teaching at St Anthony’s Primary School in 1983. Myself , Doug Hodgson & Debbie Linehan had our three Yr 3 classes upstairs at Erindale College. I had a small room, but Doug & Debbie were in an open space. The rest of the Primary School were in rooms at Padua High School, which in those years only went to Yr 10. We took turns in looking after the children at Lunch times in an outdoor area. At the beginning of Term 2 the Yr 3 students & their teachers were moved to a transportable classroom, not the current site of the school, amid ongoing construction!!
Joy Bresser, a very innovative & progressive Principal, would ride her bike from Padua Campus to visit us regularly and to check on what we needed. As it was a construction site, we needed to be very vigilant when the children were outdoors. The students were well entertained with the diggers & cranes during outdoor breaks. There was a lot of muddy ground!!
The office transportable was the next building installed and gradually over time the rest of the transportable classrooms were installed. As each transportable was installed, another grade would move in to join us at the current site. The Library building (which has had extensions over the years) was the last building to be installed. Then the very long walkway was constructed. Each unit was given the name of an Australian river & the three classes were named White, Brown & Green; the same colours of the uniform. We all had Physical Education (PE) outdoors and it was very cold in winter time. The brick hall was built on later and was a very welcome addition although completion was delayed due to wet ground condition.
I taught many different grades during my time there and was very fortunate be a part of the St Anthony’s Community. The Parents were very supportive in organising fund raising activities; the main one being the annual School Fete, which always attracted a great crowd. Even today, the Fete’s reputation continues and people look forward to being a part of the event. I attended the school Fete this year, 2026, and had a chance to visit the new larger school hall, upgraded tuck shop facilities and the amazing outdoor covered area. This will be a great asset continuing into the future.
My two younger children Kathryn & Christopher attended St Anthony’s so I was also an involved parent as they attended excursions, school camps and sporting activities.
A wonderful memory I have was winning the chance with my Yr4 class to go to the Erindale Centre, to be part of the outdoor crowd, to meet Prince Charles & Princess Diana on their Australian tour in March 1983 at which time the Royal couple opened the Erindale Library . Another lovely memory in the early days was seeing Joy Bresser, our Principal, on a Friday afternoon, dressed in a boiler suit & rubber boots, hosing out the school bins. There was no Janitor then!!
During my appointment as Religious Education Coordinator, I undertook further studies & achieved a Graduate Diploma in Religious Education. This proved very helpful in organising the children to receive the Sacraments - Reconciliation , First Holy Communion, & Confirmation, as well as activities for the special Feast Days in the year; the major ones being the Feast of St Anthony (a favourite of mine) and Easter.
I have many “teacher friends” from my time at St Anthony’s
and we keep in regular contact. I resigned from St Anthony’s after 23 years
with many fond memories of Pupils, Staff
& Parents.