ST Mark’s School, Inala has dedicated a new statue of the Christ Child to its former parish priest.
The statue was erected in the school grounds on Australia Day, following a request from Fr Frank Moynihan before he died last August.
The blessing and dedication took place after a Day of Remembrance Mass at St Mark’s Church attended by the school community and parishioners.
Inala parish priest Fr Joseph Tuong, Ipswich parish priest Fr Peter Casey, Fr Paul Goodland from Amberley Air Base, Fr Adrian Sharp from Sunnybank, Goodna parish priest Fr Roger Burns and retired priest Fr Martin Doyle concelebrated the Mass.
St Mark’s students led the congregation in song with a liturgical movement to the stirring strains of We Are Australian.
Many representatives of both the parish and school joined with the priests in a blessing ceremony of the statue that followed the Mass.
Assistant principal for religious education Garry Montgomery said Fr Moynihan forged strong ties with the school during his time as parish priest.
“One of his final wishes was to have a statue of the Christ Child erected in the school grounds,” he said.
Mr Montgomery said the statue was a gentle reminder of the love that Fr Moynihan had for St Mark’s Parish, his personal affection for the children of St Mark’s School, and a lasting reminder of a man’s devotion to further the work of God.
School captains Mario Jimenez and Thy Le said they hoped the statue would inspire many students to shape and enrich the changing world by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
