Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Centenary in Booval

byEmilie Ng
5 June 2015 - Updated on 1 April 2021
Reading Time: 2 mins read
AA

Catholic generations: Parishioners of Sacred Heart Church, Booval, Francis Klein, Maria Ryan, Josie Ryan, Donna Conway, Leila Ryan, Cliff Ryan, Janice Besgrove, Clare Patch, Cathy Peacock, Desolie King and parish priest Fr Jojimon Thomas. Photo: Emilie Ng

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Catholic generations: Parishioners of Sacred Heart Church, Booval, Francis Klein, Maria Ryan, Josie Ryan, Donna Conway, Leila Ryan, Cliff Ryan, Janice Besgrove, Clare Patch, Cathy Peacock, Desolie King and parish priest Fr Jojimon Thomas. Photo: Emilie Ng
Catholic generations: Parishioners of Sacred Heart Church, Booval, Francis Klein, Maria Ryan, Josie Ryan, Donna Conway, Leila Ryan, Cliff Ryan, Janice Besgrove, Clare Patch, Cathy Peacock, Desolie King and parish priest Fr Jojimon Thomas. Photo: Emilie Ng

By Emilie Ng

CHURCHES may not be typical heirlooms among families, but four Booval Catholic ancestors thought a beautiful church was the perfect gift for the next generations.

Between 1912 and 1915, four Catholic families – the Hartfiels, Quinns, Leblers and Costellos – mortgaged their own homes to secure the building of a new Catholic church in Booval.

Their sacrifices paid off when Brisbane Archbishop James Duhig blessed and opened Sacred Heart Church in 1915.

Next week, the parish will celebrate its centenary and honour the four families who put their faith before their own living needs.

Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge will celebrate the centenary Mass on June 14 after dining with an expected crowd of 250 guests.

Janice Besgrove, one of the granddaughters of the Hartfiels, is proud of her grandparents’ decision to leave the community a church 100 years ago.

“I know my grandfather bought 30 pounds of timber to build the house, and back then, 30 pounds would have been a lot of money,” Mrs Besgrove said.

The Hartfiels’ history in the Church began when Mrs Besgrove’s grandfather, a Lutheran, married a Catholic girl and then converted.

They watched 12 grandchildren, including youngest child Mrs Besgrove, fill the pews of Sacred Heart Church, praying the Rosary before weekday Masses each morning except Mondays.

Related Stories

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Like Mrs Besgrove, many other parishioners have been at Sacred Heart Booval all her life.

Fellow parishioner Clare Patch, whose parents are buried at the church, has lived in the parish for 88 years.

“I’ve been here my entire life,” Mrs Patch said.

When Mrs Patch got married at Sacred Heart, Francis Klein, a parish sacristan, was a teenage altar server.

Mr Klein, 78, known for riding a bicycle to Mass every week, is the man many parishioners turn to if they want to know something about the history of the parish.

They say that without “Francis from Booval”, the parish would lose much of its history.

“Whatever has happened in the church, Francis is the one who knows about it,” Mrs Patch said.

Mr Klein remembers walking home from a Midnight Mass during the Second World War and seeing searchlights from the neighbouring Amberley airforce base.

“They were looking for the enemy bombers,” he said.

Mr Klein, who has been serving at the altar for more than 60 years, said he would most likely be “tucked away” on the sanctuary for the centenary Mass.

The newest Sacred Heart family member is also the seventh parish priest in Booval’s 100 years, Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament Father Jojimon Thomas.

Fr Thomas moved to Booval in January and is the community’s first Indian parish priest, marking a new multicultural phase of the parish’s history.

The parish recently celebrated a Mass with its first Indian priest, a Samoan choir and an African girl altar server.

Fr Thomas said he felt welcomed into the parish from the start.

“It’s a wonderful parish,” he said.

“Even though I have a different accent, I think now (the parish) are in tune with it.”

The parishioners said they were waiting for Fr Thomas to greet them at Mass with the iconic Australian phrase, “How are ya, mate?”

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Big shoes to fill for little feet

Next Post

Marriage at first sigh?

Emilie Ng

Emilie Ng is a Brisbane-based journalist for The Catholic Leader.

Related Posts

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies
QLD

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

20 May 2022
Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition
QLD

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

20 May 2022
Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning
QLD

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Next Post

Marriage at first sigh?

Creative endeavour: Curator Fiona Forrest, photographer Robin Cox and St Vincent’s Private Hospital general manager Cheryl Royle at the launch of the hospital’s Outside In art exhibition.

Catholic hospital offers healing through art

Passionate advocate: The image of Mike Byrne many students, teachers and others in the wider community will be familiar with.

Dedicated to excellence

Popular News

  • Pregnant woman

    Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Answering God’s invitation to us all

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies
QLD

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

by Joe Higgins
20 May 2022
0

BRISBANE grandmother Gwendoline Grant has clocked up 15,000 hours cuddling and caring for sick and premature babies...

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

20 May 2022
Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

19 May 2022
Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

19 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping