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Catholic Life
Publication of the Diocese of Sale
Nigerians arrive in diocese - Page 3
ISSUE 155
October 2011
Officer campus under way - Page 8
World Mission feature - Page 11
Priest a man of few words Fr John Dunlea dies THE sudden death of Oblate priest Fr John Dunlea, 79, on September 26 came as a shock to many. He had been suffering ill health for a long while and after treatment in Melbourne, he decided to return home to his beloved parishioners at Moe to spend his final days with them. Three days later he was dead.
Fr John Dunlea OMI In life Fr Dunlea was a man of few words and so this shypriest would have been embarrassed at his funeral to hear the many words in his praise for his caring, pastoral nature. He regarded his life as a missionary priest as nothing more than God’s work. He had spent a total 23 years in Moe, 20 of them as parish priest, and was responsible for building St Kieran’s Church in the 1970s. Moe was his home and the
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people of Moe were his people – most of them migrants like himself. At the requiem Mass at St Kieran’s on September 30, more than 40 clergy attended including a large number of Oblates. Bishop Christopher Prowse was main celebrant, concelebrating with Oblate Provincial Fr Harry Dyer and Bishop Emeritus Jeremiah Coffey. Fr Dunlea, grew up in Cork, Ireland, and attended primary school with Bishop Coffey. After primary school, he started his working life in the office of a bakery where his father and two uncles had delivery rounds but a year later began his secondary schooling and finally entered the Oblate novitiate at Cahermoyle, Limerick, in 1952. The following year he went to the major seminary at Piltown, Kilkkenny, where he studied philosophy and theology. He was ordained a priest in 1957 and was asked to indicate three preferences of where he would like to be sent. He chose the Philippines, California and home mission but was stunned to find he was being sent to Western Australia. Initially he was terribly home sick, especially when he found himself celebrating his first Christmas Mass on Rotnest Island off the West Australian coast. He spent three and half years at Fremantle working with the last Italian migrant community and was then transferred to the rural parish of Lesmurdie, where again there was a large Italian migrant population working in the orchards. Fr Dunlea came to Gippsland in 1966 when he took over as
MOE parishioners escort the coffin of Fr John Dunlea OMI to the hearse watched by the gathered clergy, including Bishop Christopher Prowse (centre) and Oblate Provincial Fr Harry Dyer (right). parish priest at Moe, which had 1985 he moved to Brisbane Cemetery. been run by the Oblates, since to become parish priest of the The funeral was attended by the parish was founded in 1949. newly establish Burpengary, Fr Dunlea’s sister and a niece Again he was surrounded by where he again oversaw build- who arrived from Ireland just a predominantly migrant popu- ing of its parish school. before he died. lation, most of them working He returned to Moe in 1995 for the State Electricity Com- and found it a much changed mission. town from the one he had left The parish celebrated Mass 23 years earlier. on the ground floor of St KiThe privatisation of the SEC eran’s School, so he set about had led to high unemployment building a new church for the and many young families had town. been forced to move away. BISHOP of Sale Christopher At the time, it was an exFr Dunlea retired four years Prowse is currently in Rome to tremely modern design with ago and chose to remain in Moe meet with Pope Benedict XVI pews fanning out from the altar to support new parish priest Fr and report on the state of Sale and outside he had a large cross Bernie O’Brien. Diocese. erected which could be seen In his younger days Fr DunThe Australian bishops flew from most parts of Moe. lea was a keen athlete and hurl- out at the weekend for their In 1972 Fr Dunlea left Moe ing player, but in Australia he five-yearly Ad Limina visits for the outskirts of Adelaide found a love of golf which nev- with the Pope and various diwhere he was first parish priest er left him, and he always tried castries. of the rapidly expanding Tea to fit in a couple of rounds of Such visits have been taking Tree Gully area. He also built golf a week. place for more than 1000 years the parish primary school while After his funeral, mourners with each diocese expected to there. gathered at Moe Racing Club, provide a detailed report. From there it was six years while the cortege took his reBishop Prowse sent his 100 back in Lesmurdie, then in mains to Springvale Botanical page report earlier this year.
When you donate to the Bishop’s Family Foundation you can be assured that the money will be assisting families in need for many years to come. Donated funds are held in a trust account to go on earning interest year after year. It is the income from these investments which have led to more than $700,000 being to organisations running programs to assist families in Sale Diocese.
Send tax deductible donations to Bishop’s Family Foundation, PO Box 508, Sale, 3853 Phone 5144 6132 for more information
Bishop in Rome for Ad Limina