HUNDREDS gathered to mark the 125th anniversary of St Patrick’s Church at Fortitude Valley in inner-city Brisbane last Sunday.
Archbishop John Bathersby was principal celebrant at the Mass. Several priests, deacons and religious attended.
Archbishop Bathersby commended architect Andrea Stombuco, the altars of New Zealand Oamaru stone and the “enhanced atmosphere” provided by the French stained glass windows.
“All those artists, architects and workers produced a building that would not only be a fitting home for God but a place whose beauty would lift people’s spirit to acknowledge a God who loved them into existence and maintained them in existence …,” he said.
Archbishop Bathersby also said the Church is “merely a shell” although “esteemed, historic and beautiful”, for the community of faith to gather “as a sign to the world of God’s presence”.
Mentioning the Advent pastoral letter he sent to Catholics of the archdiocese, the archbishop addressed the absence of non-practising Catholics in the Church today.
“Without them we are incomplete as they too are incomplete without us,” he said.
“But the exchange is not just one sided. If they are to join us in worship we need first of all to reach out to them as our brothers and sisters in Christ and help them realise that we want them to join us in worshipping God.”
Just as worshippers exited the building, they were greeted with what was described as “a very heavy blessing of rain”.
Morning tea followed in the adjacent hall with a slide show presentation of photographs dating back to 1880.
