Church History

Parish Photo Gallery

We, as parishioners of St John the Apostle Kippax, have been singularly blessed with the gift of being part of an MSC Parish. Over the years, our spiritual lives have been nourished and broadened by the teachings, friendship and support of an outstanding group of priests and brothers who have lived and journeyed with us.

Each of our Priests (both Parish and Assistants), commencing with our founding Parish Priest - Fr Harry Morrissey, has brought his own unique gifts to guide and share with us.

Detailed below is a listing of the Priests and Brothers who have given and continue to give so much to our Parish and the wider community:

Parish Priests:

Harry Morrissey, (1972- 1981): Bede North, (1982 – 87): Leo Hill, (1988-93):

John Rate, (1994-99): Kevin Ehlefeldt, (1999 – 2000): (Acting Parish Priest),

Christopher (Chris) Murphy, (2000-2001): Christopher (Chris) McPhee, (2002-04):

Michael Fallon, (2005 - 06): Peter Wood, 2007(Acting Parish Priest):

Michael Fallon, (2008 – 2010),

Assistant Priests/Novices/Deacons:

William (Bill) Welsh, (1973-74): Francis (Frank) Dineen, (1975-75):

Leonard (Len) Helm, (1976 –77): William (Bill) Welsh, (1978-81):

Peter Chalk, (1980 -Japanese Studies): William (Bill) Brady, (1982):

Peter Hearn, (1983): Desmond (Des) Holm, (1982-83 Deacon);

John Kelliher, (1984-85): Christopher (Chris) Murphy, (1986-90):

Edward (Ted) McCormack, (1991-93): Gregory (Greg) McEnnally, (1991-92):

Roger Duggan, (1994-96): Dominic Gleeson, (1997-2001):

Martin Monaghan, (1998-Chaplain): Rafael Seru (2002):

Edward James (Jim) Fallon, (2002-2007 Priest in Residence):

Michael Fallon, (2002-04):

Vito Kelekele, (2003 - Novice)

Peter Hendrinks, (2004-Novice)

Mark Hanns, (2005-2010)

John Bosman (2010-

Brothers:

Bernard Bernie McDonnell, (1974-78)

Gerard Shanley, (1989)

Mark Hanns, (1994-95)

 

An Introductory History of St John the Apostle Parish, Kippax

In the late sixties development of Belconnen had begun with Aranda the first suburb and the Aranda Parish of St Vincent serving all of the first families in the Belconnen valley.  Mass was celebrated in Macquarie Primary School and was a well-attended and lively affair, with mostly young couples and even younger families.

As the population increased, a second parish St Matthews Page was created (in about 1970) to include all Catholics west of Macquarie.  Mass was celebrated in the Page Primary School in Petterd St (now demolished to make way for town houses) and then moved to St Matthew’s Primary School and eventually to its present home in St Matthews Catholic Church, Page.

Canberra’s dramatic rise in population continued with the development of Higgins, Holt, Latham and Macgregor with the result that a third parish, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Parish of St John the Apostle, Kippax was created in February 1972.  Our first parish priest was Fr Harry Morrissey msc who immediately purchased a house, No1 Starke St, Higgins, for use as a presbytery and in the early days, for the celebration of Mass, hearing of Confessions and parish activity generally.

At that time there were about 400 families in Higgins and 100 families in Latham.  In 1973 Fr Harry was joined by Fr Bill Welsh msc and Br Bernie McDonell msc.  Between them they visited every family in the parish.

Numbers continued to grow and the congregation at No 1 Starke St on a Sunday morning spilled over from the lounge/dining room into the hallway and the kitchen where the edibles in the refrigerator proved too much of a temptation for young, acquisative fingers.  The need to move was apparent  after only one, less than fortunate, Sunday Mass at Higgins Primary.  The seats were spring loaded so that when the congregation stood for the Gospel, the seats folded up, resulting in a series of explosions similar to a massive thunder storm or the Normandy invasion.

Latham Primary school was completed, but not yet occupied.  Fr Harry using his customary initiative, sought and obtained approval for its use in March 1973, and we finally had a little more elbow room.  All of this took place with the ever present knowledge of the need for a permanent home, on the present site which had been allocated by the Government. That area of land also included all of the lower side of Blackham Street, all the way along to the boundary of Cranleigh Special School, an area of 10 acres.  It was Fr Harry’s plan to use this extra land to create a retirement village and that it would be administered and supported by the people of the parish as a dedicated parish community work.  Sadly that plan did not eventuate and some years later, the land was returned to the Government by the parish priest of the time.

From the very early days of the Parish a weekly newsletter was produced firstly a joint Belconnen Parishes publication and then our own on 25 February 1973.  There was considerable difficulty in giving the latter a name; a name that was original but also meaningful.  In his entrepreneurial style Father Harry proposed a competition to find a name and many submissions were received including the Advocate, Pax, Good News, The Word (it was said that the Daily Planet also received a mention) and several other titles already in use. The Title “Compact” submitted by Eric French, still in use, was finally adopted on 13 May 1973 and Eric was awarded $5.  Rumour has it that Eric had the $5 note framed and it is still on view in his home today.  Eric’s suggested title was most profound as Compact is a “compound” of two letters com (community) and pact (peace).  A Compact is also an agreement and means “closely put together”.

The design and construction of our present Parish centre proceeded in 1974 resulting in the dedication of St John The Apostle Church and Community Centre in 2 November 1975 by Archbishop Thomas V Cahill.  The first Eucharist was actually celebrated there in October 1975.

The Parish Centre’s design was most innovative, yet incorporating natural, unadorned materials in its construction, modern in design yet displaying the simplicity, poverty and practical economy of a Christian life.  In July 1973 a firm of Architects, Leith & Bartlett Pty Ltd, was appointed.

The church was designed to hold 450 people, with a large concertina curtain which effectively divided the room into a 100 seat chapel for weekday Mass with the curtain opened to proved full capacity for Sunday Mass.

Originally there was no raised platform at the head of the church and effectively the altar was located “in the round” with a tabernacle of simple yet expressive design nearby.  With the original dividing curtain, it was possible to isolate the chapel where people could go to pray and meditate while there was a social activity being held in the body of the church.  This main area also contained a fully equipped kitchen, storage areas and toilets.  It is interesting to observe that the current layout of the altar, which has undergone a number of changes over the years, is very reminiscent of the original 1973 design.