By Emilie Ng
PRAYERS “bounced off the walls” of St Joseph’s Church, Gayndah, as hundreds filled the pews to celebrate the sacred building’s centenary on April 18.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge celebrated the centenary Mass alongside parish priest Fr Jason Middleton and six former Gayndah priests.
Fr Middleton said more than 200 Catholics journeyed to Queensland’s oldest town for the “momentous event”.
“Our beautiful church was abuzz with excitement and anticipation, ablaze with faith and filled with joy – so much so that it seemed as if the prayers bounced off the walls, surrounded as we were by a great communion of saints who at one time or another called this their home of faith,” he said.
While the town’s pioneer priest Fr Constantine Rosolini established the Catholic parish in Gayndah in 1871, the parish’s first church would be built more than 30 years later.
A week before Australian troops left for Gallipoli in 1915, Gayndah Catholics finally received their first church, named in honour of St Joseph.
More than 800 people witnessed the opening and blessing of St Joseph’s Church by Brisbane Archbishop James Duhig on April 19, 1915.
Fr Middleton commissioned a bronze plaque, sponsored by the local Gayndah Bendigo Bank community foundation, as the parish has no official foundation stone acknowledging the original opening and blessing.
New memorial windows surrounding the sanctuary were also blessed during the centenary celebrations.
Archbishop Coleridge extended his stay in Gayndah to visit the neighbouring Catholic communities in Mundubbera and Eidsvold, almost one hour from St Joseph’s Church.
Fr Middleton said it was Archbishop Coleridge’s first visit to the towns, and he shared with them “a message of hope and gratitude”.
“Even though they are the most remote churches in the archdiocese, they are precious to the Archdiocese of Brisbane, and are central to the heart of the mission of the Church,” Fr Middleton said.
“We pray that for 100 more years and beyond, Christ will be encountered in this place, through the presence and ministry of the Church, and many more people will come to know the love, faith and fellowship of this special community, united as one in Christ.”
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