FR Clem Hodge remembers the trenches dug in the St Stephen’s Cathedral grounds when he started at St Stephen’s School in June 1942.
“The Second World War was at our door,” he said.
But even with the war looming, young Clem still made many fond memories in those early years at St Stephen’s.
He did his schooling there from 1942 to 1950 when he left for St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace.
Many people stood out in his memory in those eight formative years, he said.
Most of all was Mercy Sister Gabriel Mary Bourke.
She taught at the school and worked as a sacristan at the cathedral for 40 years, from the 1920s to 1965 when St Stephen’s School closed.
He says her witness of a holy life had a strong impact on his vocation to the priesthood.
He remembers she once told him when he was 17 years old, “You don’t have to be a priest just because I think you’re going to be”.
“She was a great lady, Sr Gabriel Mary,” he said.
The schoolchildren were deeply involved in the spiritual life of the parish too, he said.
He still remembers going to the 1.10pm Rosary and Benediction every day.
He made his first confession and received First Holy Communion in 1944, was confirmed in 1947, was ordained and celebrated his first Mass in 1961 all at St Stephen’s Cathedral and all with Archbishop James Duhig.
His ministry took him back to the cathedral many times, taking up an appointment in 1965 and again in 1972.
In the 1990s, he became cathedral administrator, where his nephew Fr Paul Kelly was ordained in 1997.
Even after retiring in 2005, he returned many times to help out with sacraments.
He said the 150th anniversary of St Stephen’s Cathedral “is about a building but more about the people who frequented it and still do”.
“Over the 150 years, the thousands of people, some known, but most unknown, are the story in history and more importantly before God,” he said.
Those lesser-known staff and volunteers, he said, “were the powerhouse supporting the daily life of the cathedral”.
Of the many names that came to mind, he remembered organist Kitty Slack, whose story appears on page 24 of the May edition of The Catholic Leader, the housekeeper for breakfasts Mary Murphy and Bill Watson, who was an engineer on Sydney Harbour Bridge and who dedicated himself full time to Aquinas Library, St Vincent de Paul Society and he helped organise collections at the cathedral.
Fr Hodge said there was a story about Mr Watson, who was searching the pews for someone to help with taking around the collection plate.
He almost handed it to a man, but at the last second thought something was off about him, and decided against it.
The man turned out to be a judge on the United States Supreme Court.
While there were many great occasions at the cathedral over the years, St Stephen’s always retained its charm as a parish church and a sanctuary of devotion.
Fr Hodge said it had always been an “oasis of prayer”.
He said there were strong devotions there like Eucharistic Adoration and a long history as a centre for the Sacrament of Penance in Brisbane.
“Over the years, I think about all the graces and consolations and gifts that people received from God that came through the cathedral and in the cathedral,” he said.
“There’s so many stories of joy,” he said.
Fr Hodge still keeps in touch with a member of his class at St Stephen’s School and said he was proud to take part in a school reunion last year as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations.
