02 FEBRUARY 2023
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Edition #418
PERTH’S NEWEST CHURCH OF ST JOHN PAUL II BANKIA GROVE DEDICATED AND OPENED ON AUSTRALIA DAY
A parishioner gives the acknowledgement to country during the dedication and opening Mass of the St John Paul II Church, Banksia Grove, Thursday 26 January. PHOTO: JAMIE O'BRIEN.
By Jamie O'Brien
God is asking us to see the new church building of St John Paul II Banksia Grove as a powerful symbol of all that he is calling us to be, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe has said. Celebrating the dedication and opening of the new Church at Banksia Grove, Thursday 26 January, Archbishop Costelloe was joined by Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Vicar General Fr Peter Whitely VG, Parish Priest Fr Vinh Dong and assisted by Deacon Nicholas Diedler. Also joining Archbishop Costelloe for the occasion was Geraldton Emeritus Bishop Justin Bianchini and Bishop Joseph Dang Duc Nguyen from the Diocese of Thanh Hóa, Vietnam. Some 1000 people from across Banksia Grove and the surrounding suburbs came together for the occasion, which commenced with
a lion dance and flag bearers to demonstrate the multicultural element of the parish. Gathered at the outside entrance of the Church, which includes a life-size statue of St John Paul II, Archbishop Costelloe blessed the relics of three saints – St John Paul II, St Mary MacKillop and St Agnes Le Thi Thanh, the only female Vietnamese martyr – which were carried into the new Church with the procession by three families of the parish. The relics were later fixed into the front of the altar by Archbishop Costelloe. The congregation was then led to the front of the Church to the sound of bagpipes where Archbishop Costelloe was presented with the keys and plans of the new Church building by Ross and Grant DWA Architects and Metrocon Builders. Archbishop Costelloe cut the ribbon with the assistance of Fr Vinh Dong
and also unveiled the stone plaque at the entrance. Speaking in his homily, Archbishop Costelloe reflected on the words from scripture, ‘You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church,’. “The Church, of which we are all a part, looks back to that first group of disciples whom Jesus gathered around him, with Peter as their leader,” Archbishop Costelloe explained. “It is the Church to which Jesus gave the gift of his Holy Spirit at Pentecost. “It is the Church which, from those early beginnings, set out on a journey which has lasted for over two thousand years. And it is the Church which gathers, here in this place, on this day, as we come together and come, rejoicing, into the house of God,” he said. Full Text available at
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